By Dr. Michelle Ami Reyes
O
n a cold and windy day in Atlanta, on March 28, 2021, a crowd of between 600-1,000 people joined together in an abandoned K-Mart parking lot to Stand Together for AAPI Lives and Dignity. Despite the chill in the air, there was a sense of wonder throughout the diverse crowd forming. Many of the attendees had never seen so many Asian American Christians in one gathering before. Nor had many ever experienced a communal space to grieve and lament the pains of anti-Asian racism.
Organized in partnership between AACC, local organizations such as 4Pointes Church and We Love Buhi, and national organizations such as Be the Bridge and the (&)Campaign, the Atlanta prayer rally grieved over the loss of eight precious lives in the Atlanta massacre. Located at ground zero, the organizing of this rally catalyzed a movement across the country that led to a total of 14 prayer rallies taking place simultaneously across the US, including Los Angeles and San Francisco, Chicago, Houston, Austin, Dallas, Washington D.C., Baltimore, Detroit, Boston, Minneapolis, and New York City. A virtual event was also held in Seattle. This was a historic event. Never before has the country seen collective action like this by the Asian American church and friends of our community.
The Atlanta rally opened by creating space for communal lament and prayer. As Vice President, Michelle Ami Reyes, shared in her opener, it was important for those in attendance to understand that the shooting on March 16th was a racialized act, and it was not an isolated event. Rather, it is the most recent link in a long chain of anti-Asian racism that includes, but is not limited to the 1871 Chinese Massacre, the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the internment of 120,000 Japanese Americans during WWII, anti-South Asian hate after 9/11, and anti-Asian racism during the time of Covid-19. Michelle also shared, “We can’t work together toward a more just and equitable future if we don’t see or understand this full history. Understanding the full breadth of the Asian American experience in this country is the method by which we grieve and lament well today.” The collective prayer rallies, both in Atlanta and around the country, served to bear witness to this tragedy and as a call for people to see that as we grieve and lament communally, we do so with the full weight of anti-Asian history on our shoulders.
One of the unique moments of the Atlanta rally came around the midpoint as first, Sam Kang, and then, Jennifer Fero, came on stage to lament and confess the toxic and broken theology in the church that has led to the fetishization and exotification of Asian women. Sam also highlighted the disparity between Jesus’ view of women and the church’s view. In his final exhortation, he called all men in the crowd to raise their hand, confess their own complicity in misogyny and mistreatment of women, and to stand for the dignity, respect, and honor of all women moving forward. David Park, pastor of Open Table Community Church, followed by saying, “to repent is to commit to change.”
Friends of the AAPI community, Tasha Morrison and Justin Giboney, also spoke at the Atlanta rally. Justin Giboney, president and founder of the (&)Campaign, talked about the importance of African Americans and Asian Americans standing in solidarity together. As Tasha Morrison, president and founder of Be the Bridge, commented, part of how we do this is by addressing the ways we’ve been complicit in perpetuating violence against each other, from the Hmong officer involved in the death of George Floyd to the hate crimes against Asians committed by African Americans.
As we reflect on the prayer rally in Atlanta on Sunday as well as the simultaneous prayer rallies around the country, we give thanks to God for the way he is moving in the church at large and the Asian American church specifically. The Asian American church today is still finding its voice and learning to speak up on issues of justice. As speaker, Andrea Cole, said, “we’re still figuring this out and it’s going to be a bit messy at first.” But there is a historic precedent to this. The historic Asian American church stood as a prophetic witness against the powers and principalities of white supremacy. In this current cultural moment, Asian American Christians are realizing they can no longer accept the suggestion to keep their heads down, do nothing, and not challenge the status quo.
The K-Mart parking lot, situated on Buford Highway, is a centrifuge of Asian American community and culture. The Gold spa, where one of the shootings took place, was ten miles away. This proximity and personalization of anti-Asian pain and trauma shook many to their core. In fact, the Atlanta massacre was a wake-up call for many Asian American Christians that we can no longer be silent.
As AACC president, Raymond Chang, said at the Atlanta rally on Sunday, “As those of Asian heritage were not viewed as full members of society, the historic Asian American church stood in the gap to both shepherd their people, and to advocate for them in the public square. Our collective, national response today, taps into this rich legacy of advocacy and activism, established upon our faith in Jesus Christ. We commit to ending this.”
Pastor of 4Pointes Church, Peter Lim, shared that one tangible way to stand for AAPI lives and dignity is to support local Asian businesses. Asian restaurants, in particular, still suffer from anti-Asian bias linked to the pandemic. It’s important that we not only declare with our voices that Asian lives matter, but use our money and resources to support this declaration as well. Peter also shared, “We have a loud voice. Use it!”
AACC member, Jessica Chang, and wife of Raymond Chang, added, “we call our own churches (and non-Asian American churches) to engage in race- and gender-conscious discipleship, and embrace the teaching and work of Jesus Christ by actively combating anti-Asian racism from the pulpit, in congregational life, and in the world. We call the church to tear down the idols of nationalism, misogyny, and xenophobia in the church.”
The prayer rally in Atlanta and in other cities around the country was an invitation for everyone — both Asian American Christians and friends of the community — to enter into the collective pain of the Asian American community. See the world through our eyes and our realities of racism, marginalization, and erasure. Hear our voices. Listen to our stories. Mourn with us. We want to work together toward a more just and equitable future for all, and Sunday’s national prayer rallies felt like a powerful step in that direction.
Read these additional articles for a recap of the National Prayer Rally for AAPI Lives & Dignity:
ASIAN WOMEN LEAD CHARGE AGAINST BIGOTRY IN CHRISTIAN RALLIES ACROSS U.S., Sojourners
At nationwide rallies, Christians stand up for Asian Americans, Religion News Service
Dr. Michelle Reyes is the vice president of AACC as well as a church planter, pastor’s wife, author, speaker, and activist in Austin, TX. In 2014, Michelle and her husband co-planted Hope Community Church, a minority-led multicultural church that serves low-income and disadvantaged communities in East Austin. She also serves as the local CCDA Austin Networker. Michelle has a forthcoming book with Zondervan on cross-cultural relationships. Her writings on faith and culture have appeared in Christianity Today Women, ERLC, Missio Alliance, Faithfully Magazine, and Patheos, among other publications. She and her husband have two young kids aged four and one.