We are devastated by the murders in Atlanta, Georgia, where earlier this week a gunman shot and killed eight people at three Asian-owned businesses. Six of the eight people killed were Asian American, and all but one were women. Racially motivated hatred and violence toward the Asian community has increased dramatically since the COVID-19 pandemic began, but it is not new.

We have a responsibility to speak out and condemn anti-Asian racism, violence, and misogyny and to understand and combat the systems and policies that perpetuate them. Animal Humane Society is committed to fighting for racial justice and stands in solidarity with our Asian American communities, those traumatized by racist and misogynist hatred, and everyone who is feeling outraged and afraid in this moment. We must do better.