In Solidarity
Two weeks ago, across three spas in Atlanta, a gunman shot and killed eight people—primarily Asian women—in a senseless act of evil. Less than a week after that, another horrific mass shooting took place at a supermarket in Boulder, killing ten people. These deaths from gun violence, like those to date and all those that will continue until our society and politics address their underlying causes, do not happen in a vacuum. They take place within the fabric of our systemic failings: racism, sexism, xenophobia, and hatred of all stripes; a broken mental health support system; political inaction in the fundamental duty of keeping our public safe.
We at Masks4Missions mourn the loss of the victims of this recent gun violence, grieve with their families and friends, and hold in our hearts the many whose lives have been altered forever by these tragedies. We stand in solidarity with the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities in this time of deafening pain, acknowledging and condemning the racism that they have faced historically as well as its intensification during the COVID-19 pandemic. We recognize the disproportionate violence that women have been and continue to be subjected to and denounce it in all forms.
Our purpose at Masks4Missions is to save lives through promoting mask compliance and to shine a light on the missions of nonprofits in our communities through a simple symbol of communal care: the mask. Today, we want to shine that light on several of the many organizations—though far from all—whose work is helping save lives and keep our communities safe by combating hatred, advocating for sensible gun reforms, and providing support to those experiencing mental illness. Links to support these organizations are provided below, and we encourage all our supporters and funders to learn how they can join in this common fight to keep all members of our society safe:
Everytown for Gun Safety – https://everytown.org/donate/
Asian Pacific Fund – https://secure.qgiv.com/for/apfund/
National Coalition Against Domestic Violence – https://ncadv.org/
Doug and the Masks4Missions team