We at the Rockefeller Archive Center have reacted in horror at the killings in Atlanta that primarily targeted Asian American women and the rising hatred and violence directed against members of the Asian, Asian American and Pacific Islander community over the past year. After the murder of George Floyd and other Black citizens, we vowed to do better, and these recent events make it abundantly clear that all of us have so much more to do to confront and defeat the toxic racism that exists in our society.
Through our donor institutions, collections, researchers and colleagues, the Rockefeller Archive Center has a strong and supportive relationship with the AAPI community, and yet it is also clear that our archives contain material that has contributed to the systemic racism that this community has faced. We must acknowledge this and continue our work to find new ways to challenge racist thinking while at the same time highlighting the efforts of those individuals and organizations that have worked successfully to confront racism in all of its forms.