Dear JoLLE Community,
We, the editorial board of JoLLE, stand in solidarity with Asian/Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities, educators, scholars, and students, as well as other BIPOC communities who have experienced racism and other forms of injustice.
The tragic death of eight people on Tuesday, including six Asian women, in the Atlanta metropolitan areas is another telling example of race-related hatred and racism. As the investigation progresses, it is clear that this is another instance of purposeful violence against AAPI individuals due to the anti-Asian hatred that has become more pronounced since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. We send our deepest condolences to the families and friends of the victims, and hope our AAPI colleagues, friends, and families know that we are with you at this painful time.
We unequivocally condemn anti-Asian racism, xenophobia, and hate crimes. In the past and present, many extraordinary board members, faculty, editors, scholars, artists, presenters, and keynote speakers of Asian descent have contributed to our journal. We speak as an academic organization that is sincerely committed to enhancing intellectual conversation, inclusive and equitable education, and academic publications for justice. In February 2020, JoLLE joined with more than 60 educators and scholars at our annual conference to discuss our responsibilities and capabilities as educators and scholars to antiracist teaching and researching in the field of language and literacy education. Today, we recommit ourselves to stand in solidarity with AAPI communities and communities beyond to advocate for justice and antiracist teaching and researching.
For educators and scholars, we encourage you to join us to discuss the tragedy with your students and colleagues, to learn the injustice against AAPI in U.S. history, and to promote solidarity. Here are some resources for the discussion:
Asian Mental Health Collective
@asianlitforkids on Instagram
As we move forward, we want to hold those who were lost in our thoughts and position ourselves to advocate for and with Asian and Asian-American communities in meaningful and transformative ways.
Sincerely,
JoLLE’s Editorial Board
Professor Sterg Botzakis’ Website
Graphic Novel Resources
Misha Cahmann Taylor’s Website
www.teachersactup.com
Peter Smagorinsky’s Op-Ed Essays
http://www.coe.uga.edu/~smago/vita/vitaweb.htm#OpEd