Prompted by a recent mass shooting targeting Asian-American women, AACI issued a formal
statement urging the cancer community, policymakers, and other stakeholders to address racism, discrimination, and gun violence as public health crises.
In the statement, the association highlighted the responsibility of its Board of Directors, staff, and cancer center leaders to improve health outcomes for all people — not just as they relate to cancer, but in all facets of public health.
Gun violence is responsible for the deaths of more than 30,000 Americans each year. Further, public health advocates have noted that xenophobic language used to describe the coronavirus early in the pandemic has fueled an increase in hate crimes against Asian Americans in the past year. In fact, data released recently by Stop AAPI Hate shows more than 500 incidents of violence, discrimination, and harassment against Asian Americans in the first two months of 2021 — and nearly 3,800 firsthand reports since March 2020.
AACI stands with citizens and groups who are working to confront systemic racism and all forms of injustice. AACI is committed to promoting health equity, diversity, and inclusion within North America’s leading cancer centers and in our communities.
Read the Statement