Asian Americans Advancing Justice Blasts Racist Political Advertisement in West Virginia
Advancing Justice outraged and exasperated at blatant racist statements
Washington, DC — In a clearly anti-Asian advertisement featuring Don Blankenship – a candidate running in the West Virginia primary for U.S. Senate – speaking to camera, he denigrates Asians as “China people” and refers to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s “China family.”
Asian Americans Advancing Justice, an affiliation of five civil rights organizations, issues the following statement:
“Asian Americans Advancing Justice is outraged and exasperated that once again, as midterm elections start to heat up, a candidate for elected office believes that saying blatant racist statements is appropriate. This most recent ad is yet another example in a long line of political advertising used to incite animosity or race-based fear of Asian Americans and other communities of color.
It is clear this ad uses the myth of Asians being perpetual foreigners as a way to raise fear and concern. This is the same kind of tactic that led to shameful moments in U.S. history such as the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II.
Americans have had enough of this stereotyping and fear-mongering. We reject these racist remarks. America and Americans are better than this.”
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Asian Americans Advancing Justice is a national affiliation of five leading organizations advocating for the civil and human rights of Asian Americans and other underserved communities to promote a fair and equitable society for all. The affiliation’s members are: Advancing Justice | AAJC (Washington, DC), Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus (San Francisco), Advancing Justice – Los Angeles, Advancing Justice – Atlanta, and Advancing Justice – Chicago.
Contacts:
Christina So, (415) 848-7728, christinaso@advancingjustice-alc.org
Michelle Boykins, (202) 296-2300, ext. 0144, mboykins@advancingjustice-aajc.org
Jessica Jinn, (213) 241-8817 jjinn@advancingjustice-la.org
James Woo, (404) 585-8446, jwoo@advancingjustice-atlanta.org
Brandon Lee, (773) 271-0899 x200 blee@advancingjustice-chicago.org