Groups Stand with Communities of Color in Strengthening Movement to End Racial Profiling
SAN FRANCISCO —Asian Americans Advancing Justice, an affiliation of five civil rights organizations, stands in outrage as our communities of color are reeling from a “not guilty” verdict in the shooting death of Philando Castile, an African American man from Minnesota who was shot and killed during an encounter with a police officer in 2016. He was one of several of black men killed by law enforcement officers between 2015-2016.
Advancing Justice released the following the statement in the aftermath of the Castile verdict last night:
“We are deeply saddened and outraged by the verdict in the Philando Castile trial. Every day our communities of color are under siege. We are seeing an alarming number of African American fathers, sons, mothers, and daughters dying at the hands of law enforcement in this country and we refuse to stand by silently.
We must put an end to racial bias and profiling in the criminal justice system. As communities of color, we often find ourselves on the wrong side of a system that continues to ignore racial bias, police misconduct, excessive use of police force, and inequitable sentencing within the criminal justice system.
As the nation’s leading legal and civil rights voice rooted in Asian American communities, we are fighting every day against a surge of xenophobia, anti-immigrant, and anti-Muslim policies and actions, but we must not forget that anti-blackness continues too. Black Lives Matter and we will continue to stand in solidarity to call an end to these senseless shootings and to hold law enforcement accountable for racial profiling and misconduct.”
Asian Americans Advancing Justice is a national affiliation of five leading organizations advocating for the civil and human rights of Asian Americans and other underserved communities to promote a fair and equitable society for all. The affiliation’s members are: Advancing Justice | AAJC (Washington, D.C.), Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus (San Francisco), Advancing Justice – Los Angeles, Advancing Justice – Chicago, and Advancing Justice – Atlanta.