GMAACC condemns racist violence, co-hosts vigil for Black lives taken by police
MALDEN, MA — The Greater Malden Asian American Community Coalition (GMAACC), in collaboration with Malden Community Organizing for Racial Equity (MaldenCORE) and the NAACP Mystic Valley Branch, will co-host a virtual community vigil Thursday, June 4 to commemorate Black lives that were taken by recent incidents of police brutality. GMAACC also is calling for all officers involved in the killing of George Floyd to be brought to justice.
“We grieve for George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Akai Gurley, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, Trayvon Martin, and countless others who have lost their lives to racist violence. We all have a role in dismantling anti-Black racism and we cannot sit idly by as this continues to happen in our communities,” said Andrea So, President of GMAACC.
“In the case of George Floyd, we call for the four Minneapolis Police officers to be brought to justice. One of these officers — Tou Thao — is Asian American and we need to recognize the insidious ways in which our racist system attempts to pit our communities against each other through harmful narratives and internalization of the model minority myth. Asian Americans need to actively address anti-Blackness in our community. From Minneapolis to Malden, we must dismantle White supremacy and together build multiracial solidarity.”
The vigil will begin at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 4, over Zoom. Pre-registration is required and can be found here: https://bit.ly/EndPoliceBrutality.
During the vigil, organizers will read the names of Black people killed by police and light a candle for each of them. Speakers include representatives from NAACP Mystic Valley Branch, GMAACC, Malden Community Organizing for Racial Equity, Malden Mayor Gary Christenson, and several faith leaders.
The Facebook event can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/events/261614404945237/.
GMAACC is a grassroots, community-led nonprofit that works to serve and empower the residents in and around Malden, Massachusetts.
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