Washington, Apr 15 (IANS): Leaders of advocacy groups and Congress members have urged minority communities in the US to unite in the fight against racism, xenophobia and other social injustices.
All civil rights organisations have to join together to stamp out constantly and be vigilant against racism, discrimination and scapegoating, because it is a disease that, if allowed to spread, affects everybody, Gary Locke, chairman-elect of the Committee of 100 (C100), a non-profit organisation of prominent Chinese Americans, said.
Speaking at a special virtual town hall organised by the Committee of 100, Locke said, "That's what we really need to focus on," Xinhua news agency reported.
When it comes to addressing white supremacy dogma behaviours, "we recognised no matter what our backgrounds are, what country of origin is, what region of this country we come from, we must unite and not accept the concept of the caste system", said Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
Johnson said the "caste system that we have in this country is going to destroy us if we don't destroy it".
He stressed the importance of "being a friend before you need a friend" which values solidarity among minority groups.
"We must stand united across our communities to ensure the atmosphere for white supremacy extremist activity is no longer accepted, and we stand united to fight against it," said Johnson.
"The Jews in America are only safe when all minorities are safe, and only when everyone has justice do we as a Jewish people have justice... An attack on a Chinese American is an attack on me as a Jewish American, we are all in this together," said Jonathan A. Greenblatt, CEO and national director of the Anti-Defamation League, the world's leading anti-hate organisation.
Democratic Congresswoman Grace Meng also highlighted the importance of allyship and solidarity in fighting injustice against minorities.
When hate incidents happen, it is important to encourage people to report them to authorities as best as it could be, according to Democratic senator Alex Padilla from California.
"It's frankly a collective of standing up and speaking out that gives people the license to be able to come forward."
Both individuals and the media have a responsibility to tell hate stories responsibly by contextualising the incidents appropriately, according to Greenblatt.
"The best antidote to intolerance is education" on policymakers and children, he added.