In solidarity with the AAPI community, the following reflection was from a recent event at Providence St. Jude Medical Center in Fullerton, CA led by Jean Sunwoo and Amanda Trejo, both frontline healthcare workers. Together with our Racial Justice Alliance, we lit candles in honor of the Atlanta shooting victims, along with all victims of hate crimes and racism. We declared hope, light, and prayers in opposition to the darkness and division we collectively experience. In the wake of the shootings, I (Jean) wrote this to our Racial Justice Alliance a few weeks ago. The past few days, I have not slept or eaten properly. I feel sick to my stomach and tears come and go. Everything feels very raw and a pervading feeling of vulnerability sits within me. This feeling is not uncommon with many Asian women across the U.S. right now, and it will be for some time.
Racial Justice Reflection By: Jean Sunwoo, MSW and Amanda Trejo, MOT, OTR/L
The recent Georgia shootings rocked and shattered the worlds of the Asian community, as we grappled and reeled with grief, anger, and fear to step outside of our doors. Further, it was a re-traumatization of our own personal experiences that involved layers of hurt. The lack of recognition as a hate crime, targeting the vulnerable female elders, and deafening silence from those we hope would reach out was too much to bear. What I'm writing is in no way to diminish the experiences of our sisters and brothers of any community which involve harassment, trauma, or death. More importantly, this is not to discount your individual silent pain; your story counts. When one person suffers, we all suffer with you. Initially, I wanted to disengage emotionally, as we are taught to do in our culture. When a friend from another cultural back-
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