Chicago, IL – The Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO (APALA) denounces the recent racist rhetoric made by Representative Mike Bost and incumbent Mundelein trustee Dawn Abernathy in two separate incidents in the past two weeks. In the latest incident, Rep. Mike Bost used racist language to compare rowdy town halls to public humiliation and abuse, and in the earlier incident, Dawn Abernathy attributed mayoral candidate Holly Kim’s fundraising efforts to ‘Korean money.’
“What we’re seeing at the local level is this emboldened use of more racist and racially charged rhetoric from our politicians. And it’s no wonder why this is happening,” stated Arathi Jayaram of the APALA Illinois Chapter and the Chicago Teachers Union. “We’ve seen racist, xenophobic, and hateful speech on the national scale thanks to 45, and it’s definitely trickling down to the state and local levels too.”
“This is simply unacceptable,” added Alex Han of the APALA Illinois Chapter and Vice President of SEIU Healthcare Illinois. “Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have a long history in this country, and it’s unfortunate that the words from our elected officials and leaders still try to make us feel like outsiders in our very neighborhoods and communities. We are not model minorities nor are we perpetual foreigners.”
Monica Thammarath, APALA 1st Vice President and Senior Liaison of the National Education Association, concluded: “From the tragic shooting in Olathe, Kansas to detainment of DACA recipients and undocumented youth in Washington and Mississippi, we are seeing attacks on brown and black bodies across the nation. Words are powerful, and they definitely matter in this political landscape. That’s why APALA is ready to call out any and all politicians, organizations, and individuals who further hateful speech, actions, and policies because we refuse to make hate normal.”
“What we’re seeing at the local level is this emboldened use of more racist and racially charged rhetoric from our politicians. And it’s no wonder why this is happening,” stated Arathi Jayaram of the APALA Illinois Chapter and the Chicago Teachers Union. “We’ve seen racist, xenophobic, and hateful speech on the national scale thanks to 45, and it’s definitely trickling down to the state and local levels too.”
“This is simply unacceptable,” added Alex Han of the APALA Illinois Chapter and Vice President of SEIU Healthcare Illinois. “Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have a long history in this country, and it’s unfortunate that the words from our elected officials and leaders still try to make us feel like outsiders in our very neighborhoods and communities. We are not model minorities nor are we perpetual foreigners.”
Monica Thammarath, APALA 1st Vice President and Senior Liaison of the National Education Association, concluded: “From the tragic shooting in Olathe, Kansas to detainment of DACA recipients and undocumented youth in Washington and Mississippi, we are seeing attacks on brown and black bodies across the nation. Words are powerful, and they definitely matter in this political landscape. That’s why APALA is ready to call out any and all politicians, organizations, and individuals who further hateful speech, actions, and policies because we refuse to make hate normal.”
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| apala_denounces_racially_charged_rhetoric_in_illinois_politics.pdf |
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