PLEASANT HILL, CA – On Saturday, on the eve of the Lunar New Year, a gunman entered a dance hall in Monterey Park, California—a city with a majority Asian American population—and killed 11 individuals and wounded at least 10 others, many of whom are Asian American. Yesterday, a second mass shooting in California claimed the lives of seven people of Asian and Latino descent. 

Rod Lew, executive director of Asian Pacific Partners for Empowerment, Advocacy and Leadership (APPEAL), issued the following statement:

“Our thoughts and condolences go out to the victims, their families, and the greater Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay communities. 

“While we do not yet know the motive behind the shootings, these senseless acts of gun violence have affected our nation, and we must do more to ensure our communities are safe. Now is the time for our legislative leaders to enact meaningful gun control and a ban on assault weapons.

“We express our support for the victims’ families. We thank the first responders who aided the victims and commend leaders for putting the communities first in this tragedy. Lastly, we stress the importance of mental health for our greater Asian American community.”

# # #

In Solidarity with Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay-A Statement From APPEAL

In Solidarity

We grieve for the eight victims of Thursday’s shooting in Indianapolis, four of whom were Sikh from the Punjabi community. As we have learned, many Sikh employees worked at the FedEx warehouse. Although the motive for the murders is still being determined, recent evidence revealed that the shooter was browsing white supremacy websites. As the Sikh communities continue to navigate the complexities of grief, we hold them close and think of the historical trauma and recent wounds our Sikh and South Asian brothers and sisters have endured.

“Our hearts go out to their families of those killed in Indianapolis and to the Sikh community in Indiana as well as the other victims,” said Rod Lew, executive director of Asian Pacific Partners for Empowerment, Advocacy and Leadership (APPEAL). “We need to recognize that the current environment of hate and violence against Asian Americans is built on racism in all forms, including systemic racism and policies that perpetuate fearmongering.”

 The current environment of hate and violence against Asian Americans is nothing new. From federal policies like the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II to the racist targeting of South Asian people following 9/11, and the white supremacist killing of six Sikhs at a gurdwara in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, in 2012.  These are just a few examples of the racist policies and hate crimes that have occurred in our country.

During the past year, #StopAAPIHate has reported  3,795 incidents from March 19, 2020 to February 28, 2021 against Asian Americanss. We understand that our Asian American community is going through pain and fear, and we stand in solidarity with you during these troubling times.

We thank our network partners from across diverse communities for speaking out against all forms of violence and racism against Asian Americans and other communities of color. We continue to stand as an advocate for addressing racism as a public health issue; ultimately, safety from racially-motivated violence cannot be separated from community healing and well-being. We encourage a united front across different sectors, including media, business, justice, government, and community to respond appropriately and with compassion to ensure that we honor those lives lost and strive for justice for the families and for our communities.

You can donate to the memorial fund set up for the Sikh victims of the shooting by local gurdwaras (Sikh temples) who are working with the families at https://gofund.me/193dd753. If you are looking to support Sikh organizations at this time, please consider the following: Sikh Coalition, SALDEF, Jakara Movement, and Kaur Life.

In Solidarity,

Rod Lew, MPH
Executive DirectorFull Statement

Justice for George Floyd.

Black Lives Matter.

On behalf of Asian Pacific Partners for Empowerment, Advocacy and Leadership (APPEAL), we join in solidarity with Black communities throughout our country and the world in calling for justice for Mr. George Floyd. We are deeply saddened, pained and outraged by the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, the latest in a long history of brutal killings that include Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Philando Castile, Oscar Grant, Stephon Clark, and countless other African Americans. Black communities have been the target of police brutality and violence deeply rooted in structural and systemic racism.

Many of us as Asian Americans, at least in part, contribute to sustaining a social structure in this country centered on White privilege. It hurts that Tou Thao, one of the police complicit in the murder of Mr. Floyd is Asian American. Indeed, we cannot stand by and watch when our inaction and silence do harm. To stand in solidarity requires us to address anti-Blackness within our communities with renewed commitment and vigilance.

Like all sectors of our society, the institution of public health is not immune to racism. All too often, we fail to call out our own privilege, especially its dependence on institutional racism and systems of power, as we simultaneously call for “health equity.” Racism is a key public health issue and dismantling racism is a fundamental public health strategy, without which we cannot realize health equity.

Our hearts go out to our friends in Minnesota with whom we have collaborated on community building and leadership programs, especially the LAAMPP Leadership Institute. We offer our condolences, support, and steadfast commitment to amplify calls for racial justice, racial equity, and health equity in tobacco control.

We must support Black Lives Matter and take action accordingly in every facet of our lives.

In solidarity,

Rod Lew, MPH
Executive Director
Asian Pacific Partners for Empowerment, Advocacy and Leadership (APPEAL)

Joon-Ho Yu, MPH, PhD
Chair, Board of Directors
Asian Pacific Partners for Empowerment, Advocacy and Leadership (APPEAL)

To find some places to donate and ways to take action as Asian Americans, take a look at the crowdsourced document Asian Accountability to Black People.

Tobacco is a leading cause of death among Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (AANHPI) and after two decades of work fighting the ravages of tobacco in our communities, Asian Pacific Partners for Empowerment, Advocacy, and Leadership (APPEAL), welcomes the State Health Officer’s Report on the dangers of E-Cigarettes announced Wed., Jan. 28, by the California Department of Health. The state joins 74 cities and counties throughout California that, in 2014, recognized the threat of e-cigs and implemented policies to protect their residents.

“This afternoon’s press conference, held by the California Tobacco Control Program and California Department of Health, makes clear that e-cigarettes pose a threat to the health of our communities. We at APPEAL welcome the state’s clarity and its decision to issue a health advisory to medical practitioners altering them to the threat,” said Rod Lew, founding executive director of APPEAL.

At the heart of the report are startling numbers. For the first time ever, national data showed that among U.S. teens, use of e-cigarettes actually surpassed the use of traditional cigarettes in 2014. The State Health Officer’s Report included preliminary data from the California Healthy Kids Survey of more than 430,000 middle and high schools students that reflected this same trend- 6% of 7th graders use e-cigarettes vs. 2% smoke traditional cigarettes; 12% of 9th graders use e-cigarettes vs. 4% smoke traditional cigarettes; and 14% of 11th graders use e-cigarettes vs. 6.8% smoke traditional cigarettes. In all instances, the e-cigarette use is much higher than use of traditional cigarettes.

The impacts on AANHPI communities appear to be even more shocking. Preliminary data from a 2014 survey of Asian and Pacific Islanders between 18 and 25 years old in California show that while 8% of respondents currently smoke traditional cigarettes, 17% currently use electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), like e-cigs and e-hookahs, with that number jumping to 22% among male respondents.

“We at APPEAL strongly believe that e-cigs are a new way to deliver the same additive drug – nicotine — that allows Big Tobacco to dodge regulations enacted to protect our communities and our youth from death and disease,” said Lew.

One of APPEAL’s key missions is to protect our communities and, in particular, the next generation from a lifetime of nicotine addiction. In spite of claims by those who sell e-cigs that their products provide help in quitting the use of tobacco products, the state report points out that there is no scientific evidence that e-cigarettes help smokers successfully quit traditional cigarettes. In addition, dual use of cigarettes and e-cigarettes is continuing to rise, which may diminish any potential benefits of cutting back on traditional cigarettes.

People wanting to quit should use cessation resources offered by their health insurance plan including access to FDA-approved cessation aids. The California Smokers’ Helpline at 1-800-NO BUTTS is a free, effective resource available to all Californians wanting to quit any and all tobacco products, including e-cigarettes. The California Smokers’ Helpline provides services in English, Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, and Vietnamese.

Ultimately, nicotine is an additive substance that provides no benefit and is associated historically with considerable adverse impacts on health. Decades of work, millions of dollars, and literally millions of deaths have been invested in fighting the impact that tobacco and nicotine have had on AANHPI communities. We strongly oppose products that threaten to undo that investment and applaud the California Department of Health and California Tobacco Control Program for providing clear and important information on the subject.