Solidarity with the Asian-Pacific Islander communities

June 16, 2021

“The only way to survive is by taking care of one another.”

– Grace Lee Boggs, Democracy Now interview, 2010

Grace Lee Boggs

World Critical Dietetics (WCD) stands in solidarity with the Asian-Pacific Islander (API) communities by bringing a call to action to stop API hate violence. Anti-Asian hate violence rates have doubled in 2020 in some cities across the world, with API members being harassed, pushed, robbed, stabbed, raped, and killed. This is due to the racist rhetoric and scapegoating surrounding the API community with the rise of COVID-19 cases, in line with historical API scapegoating worldwide. Anti-API hate stems from racism, White supremacy, and settler colonialism. For example, API indentured servitude on plantations and railroads, the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy, The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the Japanese American Internment Camps of World War II, and the continued racist attacks after 9/11 on the Muslim, Sikh, Arab and South-Asian communities are only some of the events that continue to haunt our communities.

The recent mass shootings resulting in the murder of six Asian Women at three Atlanta-area spas as well as four members of the Sikh community at a FedEx in Indianapolis, Indiana has sparked national outcry for government and community support in dealing with the rise in violence against the API community. We are losing parents, siblings, relatives, partners, and friends simply because they fit the stereotype of someone “dangerous”, “suspicious”, “exotic”, “weak”, or “less than”. These stereotypes are deeply rooted within our society and culture, where they create purposeful divisions between communities. The division of marginalized groups is a fundamental factor for maintaining institutional oppression and the status quo, solely at the expense of those divided. We live in a society that normalizes living in fear, enduring acts of hate, and managing our trauma, but we can use these experiences to empathize with one another, despite differences in race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or gender identity. So now, as in the past, we need to come together to support one another, and fight against those who attempt to harm our communities

WCD will use our power and voice to amplify marginalized communities so they can speak about their challenges and concerns. WCD condemns all anti-Asian hate speech and actions, and stands in solidarity with the API community.

We stand committed to take the following actions:

1.    We will seek, listen, and learn from the stories of the Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) communities to discuss barriers and matters about race.

2.    We will continue to educate ourselves and others about the ways racism is perpetrated in BIPOC communities, and how to address the dismantling of negative rhetoric and stereotypes.

3.    We will use our space and resources to create an ongoing platform for BIPOC communities.

4. We will work with BIPOC communities to identify the needs and create resources to support dietitians, healthcare providers and researchers in anti-racist work.

5. We will advocate for social justice through research, education and practice that addresses social and health inequities.

WCD is in the process of creating a comprehensive action plan to address racism within WCD, within dietetics which will be shared for feedback shortly.  

We stand in solidarity with the most oppressed and will fight for a world free from racial violence, human suffering and exploitation, where equal access to life is valued for all.

In Solidarity, 

WORLD CRITICAL DIETETICS BOARD 2021-2022

World Critical Dietetics Statement in Solidarity

June 11, 2020

World Critical Dietetics (WCD) stands in solidarity with Black Lives Matter and those standing against racial injustice throughout the United States and the world.

We find ourselves now in the midst of a world-wide cry against the overt racism and xenophobia that has been the over-bearing and hateful message of those in recent power. In response to the recent murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, and to the murders of countless Black people throughout history, we stand in solidarity with the struggle for life itself against ongoing police brutality and murders. Across the world, the COVID-19 crisis had already lifted the veil off and revealed the systemic racism and class contradictions that allow people of color to become ill and die at alarming and disparate rates. In many communities, it is a form of genocide.

The multinational and international demonstrations we see in the streets in solidarity with Black people are heartening. They serve as the basis for unity in struggle that can propel society forward. We want to be part of this new motion and engage those in our profession, networks and communities to join us. It is the only future for youth, who are now demanding change under the leadership of the most oppressed, the Black community.

WCD recognizes that, as an organization of professionals, scholars and students in health and community care, we hold a responsibility to speak out against the ways that racial injustice torments people of color. As a group that advocates for the right to health, food and education for all, we are examining and redressing our own place in systems and structures that have fed the deep roots of anti-Black racism. We are committed to hearing, honoring and standing in solidarity with the voices of Black communities as they call for an end to racialized violence.

We stand committed to take the following actions:

  1. We will continue to educate ourselves and others about ways that anti-Black racism is perpetuated and create an alliance with leaders of the Black community.
  2. We will seek, listen and learn from members of Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) communities how to address the barriers to inclusion in WCD and the field of dietetics.
  3. We will use our space and resources to create an ongoing platform for BIPOC.
  4. We will create and publish a special issue of the Journal of Critical Dietetics, led by Black students, dietitians and WCD members, that will examine anti-Black racism and call for the dietetics community to work against racism.
  5. We will work with Black, Indigenous and other People of Color to identify the needs and create resources to support dietitians, healthcare providers and researchers in anti-racist work.
  6. We will partner with organizations that represent the voices and interests of Black, Indigenous and People of Color to host our annual WCD conference.
  7. We will advocate for social justice through research, education and practice that addresses social and health inequities

We stand in solidarity with the most oppressed and will fight for a world free from racial violence, human suffering and exploitation, where equal access to life is valued for all.

WORLD CRITICAL DIETETICS BOARD 2020-2021
Yuka Asada
Meredith Bessey
Jennifer Brady
Andrea Kirkham
Julie Rochefort
Christin Seher
Jill White