FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 25, 2015
Contact:
Daniel Yang
Board Chair
daniel@aaopmn.org
PRESS RELEASE: AAOP Statement on Protests Over Death of Jamar Clark
ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Asian American Organizing Project (AAOP) mourns the loss of yet another unarmed young man of color killed at the hands of law enforcement. We extend our deepest sympathies to the friends and family of Jamar Clark and the community members who have come to fear most those who claim to protect and serve them.
As a grassroots, community-building organization, we recognize the connections between violence and trauma long endured by people of color under police aggression and state-sanctioned violence. We stand in solidarity with the Minneapolis chapters of Black Lives Matter and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in demanding justice for Jamar Clark.“We continue to march with our community and civil rights leaders because we remember Fong Lee, Kim Nguyen, Kang Wong, Sureshbhai Patel, Jianqing Klyzek and many other members of the Asian American community who died due to police brutality,” said AAOP Interim Executive Director Linda Her.
“These solidarity actions will only move us to further push for an end to the injustices that Asian Americans suffer due to institutionalized racism and militarization of police. We encourage the rest of our community, including fellow Asian American organizations, institutions, and leaders to show up for and stand in solidarity with Black Lives Matter in calling for much-needed racial equity and criminal justice reform.”
“The Asian American community strongly supports demands for justice for Jamar Clark and his family because we share the pain of losing our community members’ lives to police violence and brutality,” said Daniel Yang, chairman of the Board of Directors. “No one, however, is more threatened by these extrajudicial killings than our black brothers and sisters.”
We continues to support our community members who have displayed enormous courage in the face of intimidation and responded to violent escalations with peaceful demonstrations during this difficult time for all of us.
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