‘Racism must not be tolerated’

Amid rising rates of violence against Asian Americans, health care leaders are speaking out against bigotry and stigma.

“Our company stands against hate, and we stand with our Asian-American colleagues,” Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts CEO Andrew Dreyfus wrote in an open letter to the health plan’s employees in the hours after a Georgia gunman killed eight, including six women of Asian descent. “Our values are based on respect, dignity, and equity for all. Bigotry, bias, and stereotyping, stoked by false and dangerous language during this pandemic, have no place in our society.”

Hate crimes against Asian Americans have spiked by 150% in the past year, fueled by racist language regarding COVID-19, medical leaders noted.

“Early in the pandemic, the American Medical Association highlighted that xenophobic language around the virus threatened to further fuel discrimination and hate crimes against Asian Americans,” the AMA said in a statement after the Georgia shootings, noting a report this week documented nearly 3,800 firsthand reports of violence against Asian Americans since March of last year. “This number is likely an underestimate. Racism and xenophobia—in action and in language—must not be tolerated.”

The yearlong tide of stigma and violence has hit especially hard in the medical community, where many Asian American clinicians have worked tirelessly on the front lines of the outbreak, risking their lives to care for patients even as they feared racist attacks outside hospital walls.

In the U.S., Asian American make up about 5% of the population but 20% of the country’s physicians. The health care community is rallying in solidarity.

“We stand in support of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, many of whom are our members, our patients, our friends and our family,” the American Academy of Family Physicians wrote in a statement.

Read Andrew Dreyfus’ full letter below:

^{Dear colleagues,}

^{Many of us are feeling pain and shock amid a rise in violence against Asian Americans, pain exacerbated by last night's attacks in Georgia.}

^{Our company stands against hate, and we stand with our Asian-American colleagues. Our values are based on respect, dignity, and equity for all.}

^{Bigotry, bias, and stereotyping, stoked by false and dangerous language during this pandemic, have no place in our society.}

^{As President Biden said recently, "Many Asian Americans, our fellow Americans, are on the frontlines of this pandemic trying to save lives. And still, still they are forced to live in fear for their lives just walking down streets in America. It's wrong, it's un-American and it must stop."}

^{I have been inspired by Boston's Stop Asian Hate rally held earlier this week, one of many around the country. And I have been moved by the accounts of our own colleagues, including some who gathered yesterday with our Asian Blue Community Employee Resource Group to share their painful and tragic experiences. Please know we see your strength, hear your stories and are by your side.}

^{I am proud our company has moved swiftly, since the earliest days of the pandemic, to combat misinformation and amplify the voices of Asian Americans and others speaking out against hate, stigma and bigotry. We will continue to do so.}

^{Our Asian Blue Community employee resource group welcomes members of all backgrounds and is a vital resource. I urge all our colleagues to reach out to share, listen and support each other, as we have so often this year.}

^Andrew

^{PHOTO OF ANDREW DREYFUS BY FAITH NINIVAGGI}