In New Floor Speech, Senator Reverend Warnock Commemorates One Year Anniversary of Atlanta Spa Shootings, Highlights Continued Efforts to #StopAsianHate in Georgia & Across the Country

"Mr. President, I rise today to reflect on a dark day in Georgia's recent history. One year ago, today a hateful act of violence shook metropolitan Atlanta and reverberated across our state, our country, and indeed the world. In the span of just a few hours, our sense of safety and sanctuary was pierced by bullets of hate and fear. Eight precious people lost their lives. Eight people who were loved by their families, their friends, their children. Eight people. With their own successes and struggles, hopes and dreams.

"We speak their names. Soon Chung Park. Hyun Jung Grant. Sun cha Kim. Yong Ae Yue. Delaina Ashley Yaun Gonzalez. Paul Andre Michels. Xiaojie Tan and Daoyou Feng.

"My heart aches for these Georgians and their families for whom I'm sure the wounds are still fresh.

"They were victims of unconscionable, senseless hate. As a pastor I believe in the sacred worth of every human being -- that we are strange admixture of dust and divinity, of sod and sky, beauty and possibility. So, I'll ask now for all of my colleagues and everyone who can, join me in taking a moment of silence to remember these eight Georgians and to pray, each in our own way, for their families. Thank you.

"Importantly I must mention, Mr. President, that this unspeakable violence was visited largely upon Georgia's Asian American community and especially on women of Asian descent.

"Unfortunately, this hateful act that horrified Atlanta is not isolated. It is a part of a larger trend. Last year anti-Asian hate crimes increased 339%. Think about that. In one year, 339% increase in anti-Asian hate crimes. It is a sobering statistic and should remind all of us of our shared duty in our democracy to stay committed to a peace -- an active peace -- that recognizes that we are in this together.

"It was Martin Niemöller, the pastor, during Hitler's Third Reich who said "first they came for the communists and I did not speak because I was not a communist. Then they came for the socialists and I did not speak because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews. And I did not speak because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me. And there was no one left to speak."

"And so, this is a tragedy, in a real sense visited upon all of us, and as a student of history and a voice for our state in the Senate, I know Georgians understand all too well how hate and misplaced anger can hurt our communities. How certain parts of our community are so easily scapegoated, and they lose their sense of sanctuary, and then when that happens, all of us lose a piece of ourselves.

"So, I want to the say to my AAPI sisters, brothers, and neighbors that I see you and, more importantly, I will continue to stand with you against hate and violence wherever it rears its ugly head. That's why I cosponsored and fought to pass the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act and to get it signed into law, directing more resources to ensure our communities have what they need to seek justice whenever and wherever hate and crime rear their ugly head.

"And I am especially proud that my colleagues worked with me to include a provision in this legislation that names and acknowledges the pain and experiences of Georgia's AAPI community specifically and makes sure we never forget the names attached to the lives and the families we lost in the horrific shootings in Atlanta one year ago today.

"And that's why I'm pushing here in the Senate to confirm a United States Attorney for the Northern District of our state, a post that's integral to helping Georgians stop crime and pursue justice. The terrible act of violence and hate we witnessed on March 16, 2021, ought to remind us all that we all have a stake in each other's well-being.

"Georgia's greatest son -- that great American -- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., said it best: "we're tied in a single garment of destiny, caught up in an inescapable network of mutuality. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly." I cannot be all that I ought to be until you are all that you ought to be. And you cannot be all that you ought to be until I am all that I ought to be.

"And so let us continue working together to stop Asian hate, to stop the scapegoating, to create what Dr. King called the beloved community, a community where everybody, no matter their skin collar, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or religious background, can live a life of fulfillment and joy without fear of facing hate. Thank you."

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