Rotary Club of Seattle-International District

Stop Anti-Asian Hate
By Rotary Club of Seattle – International District

The Rotary Club of Seattle – International District joins in solidarity with the thousands of Americans in extending our sympathies to the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities following the tragic events in Atlanta on March 16. The hate and fearmongering aimed at our neighbors is yet another chapter in a long history of racism, prejudice and xenophobia against Asian Americans. Locally, we are deeply saddened by the attack on February 25 in the Chinatown International District of Noriko Nasu, a Japanese language teacher, when she was struck in the face by a man wielding a rock in a sock. She was seriously injured along with her boyfriend. While an arrest has been made, it is very troubling that this hatred occurred in our neighborhood. Sadly, many incidents go unreported.

Since March 2020, the organization “Stop AAPI Hate” has collected nearly 3,000 reports from 47 states regarding racist attacks and harassment of members of the AAPI community. This deluge of attacks threatens the safety of our AAPI community and has caused them to live in fear every day. THIS MUST STOP. We must keep raising awareness and consciousness to condemn violence against our AAPI community.

We condemn these attacks and the racist rhetoric that fuels them. We can all work on being strong allies to our AAPI community by utilizing these resources to take action:

Report a hate crime: https://stopaapihate.org/ and https://www.standagainsthatred.org/
Volunteer to protect Chinatown International District elders and residents: https://www.cidcommunitywatch.com/
Bystander Intervention Training: Sign-up for training here

The members of the Rotary Club of Seattle – International District feel a strong responsibility to make sure our families and neighbors are safe. Our Club members are participating in Anti-Asian Hate protests and demonstrations in Seattle, Burien, Bellevue and other locations. They are volunteering for bystander intervention training. Join us! We stand together against all forms of injustice.

Approved by Club members and published on April 15, 2021.

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In Support of Racial Justice
By Rotary Club of Seattle – International District

We acknowledge the pain and suffering that systemic racism has caused and continues to cause, resulting in injustice and oppression. We therefore stand in unity with all communities of color throughout our country. This is a human rights issue.

As members of the Rotary Club of Seattle – International District, we recognize that Black lives matter and want to highlight the fact there is demonstrated evidence that Black lives matter less than white lives to the criminal justice system and other institutional systems in American society.

As a Club we are working on ways to reimagine and foster understanding with regard to long standing fears and injustice that have taken place over many years. We cannot walk in your shoes, but we can stand with you, because building GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS is one of the things we do as Rotarians. As a Club we want to help push the country toward a better version of itself where indeed every person’s inherent worth is recognized, and everyone is accorded dignity and respect. Over the next few years, we commit to hold ourselves accountable to a standard of diversity, equity and inclusion as individuals, as a Club and as members of our society.

We will consider the Rotary Four Way Test as a guide in this process. These are the things we think, say or do as we develop our Goals and Action Plan in our support of racial justice:

1. Is it the TRUTH?
2. Is it FAIR to all concerned?
3. Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
4. Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?

Our Action Plan has three key goal areas: education and learning, membership, and internal club operations.

We should be reminded of what Dr. Cornel West, professor at Princeton said, “Never forget that justice is what love looks like in public.”

Approved unanimously by the Board on September 22, 2020 and then presented to and approved unanimously by Club members on October 19, 2020.

July 11, 2020

The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee has been formed as an ad hoc committee of the Board of the Rotary Club of Seattle - International District. The purpose of the Committee is to draft a statement on racial diversity, equity, and inclusion for the Club’s membership to approve and to recommend an Action Plan based on that statement. Further, it is charged with overseeing the implementation of that Action Plan by the Club. All members of the Club are eligible for membership on the Committee at any time. The Committee will act by consensus of the members taking action. The Committee will maintain minutes of its meetings and present a written report of its actions to the Board at least annually.