Washington, DC— Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland (WA-10) spoke out on the House floor today condemning yesterday’s brutal shooting in Atlanta, GA which took eight lives, including six Asian women, four of whom were of Korean descent. (Please find her speech transcribed below and available to watch at this link.)
“The brutal murders in Atlanta yesterday have inflicted an unimaginable amount of anguish, pain and suffering on the victims’ families experiencing a trauma no one should ever face. I stand with the entire community as we mourn the devastating loss of eight precious lives, including six Asian women. Racially motivated violence must be called out for exactly what it is and we must stop making excuses for it or rebranding it as economic anxiety or sexual addiction.” said Strickland.
Congresswoman Strickland’s full remarks are transcribed below.
The tragic shootings in Atlanta yesterday killed 8 people, six of whom were Asian women.
To the families of the victims, you have my deepest condolences.
This crime has elements that we are trying to address in Congress – gun violence, violence against women and the meteoric rise of of violence we are witnessing against the AAPI community. Racially motivated violence must be called out for exactly what it is and we must stop making excuses for it or rebranding it as economic anxiety or sexual addiction.
As a woman who is Black and Korean, I am acutely aware of how it feels to be erased or ignored. How the default position when violence is committed against people of color or women is to defer from confronting hate that is often the motivation.
Words matter. Leadership matters. We must all loudly condemn actions and language rooted in fear and bigotry that harms all of us.
I yield my time.
Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland serves as a Member of the House Armed Services Committee and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. She is one of the first Korean-American women elected to Congress and the first African-American to represent the Pacific Northwest at the federal level.
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