As the three-year mark approaches, Atlanta and cities across the nation are preparing to defiantly remember and honor the lives lost in the horrific Atlanta spa shootings that occurred on March 16, 2021. A remembrance ceremony is set to take place in Atlanta's Korean Community Center on Brook Hollow Parkway in Norcross at 5 p.m. March 16, as reported by FOX 5 Atlanta. In addition, Georgia AAPI legislators and advocates have planned a press conference at the Georgia Capitol in Atlanta on March 14.
Local Asian American communities continue to seek and to urge reflection on a tragedy that took the lives of Delaina Ashley Yaun, Xiaojie Tan, Daoyou Feng, Paul Andre Michels, Hyun Jung Grant, Suncha Kim, Soon Chung Park and Yong Ae Yue. Six of the eight victims were women of Asian descent, highlighting concerns over racially motivated violence. Six of the victims were women of Asian descent. The events are a response to not just the immediate pain felt by these communities, but also to a broader surge in anti-Asian hate in the U.S. since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This persisting cloud of fear has led to advocacy groups like Stop AAPI Hate to document a deeply troubling 11,000 attacks on Asian Americans between March 2020 and December 2021. The assailant, Robert Aaron Long, has faced charges of murder for the killings and received a life sentence in Cherokee County with additional proceedings underway in Fulton County, per FOX 5 Atlanta.
The shooter, who had previously sought treatment for sexual addiction, was a customer at two of the massage parlors before the shootings according to police. His actions left the nation grappling with the intersections of race, gender, and violence. In the aftermath, "I’m hurt. I'm numb," a family member of one of the victims told FOX 5 Atlanta in a reflection of the collective heartache.
Looking back at the year following the tragedy, a range of activities including art exhibitions, vigils, and rallies have been conducted to condemn the racism and violence faced by the Asian American community, as NPR noted from an event held last year. The continuous struggle against anti-Asian violence remains top-of-mind for many, with figures like Sung Yeon Choimorrow, executive director of the National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum, asserting, "We need to address this."
As the third anniversary events are set to be live-streamed for wider participation, they echo the broader call for not only remembrance but action. Cities such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York City will also join in to pay their respects and stand in solidarity against a reckoning that refuses to be silenced or forgotten.
