Last week we witnessed a horrible act of violence in Atlanta in which 8 people, among them 6 Asian American women, were brutally killed by a lone gunman. While this event caught the attention of many Americans, sadly, it follows a succession of brazen acts of violence and many racist actions against Asian Americans in the past several years.
From its beginning, WSHB has been built on a policy of zero tolerance for discrimination and prejudice against any group of people based on race, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation. As a firm, we are repulsed by these acts of violence and discrimination against Asian Americans and stand in full support and solidarity with them. These abhorrent crimes—from the ones that make the national news such as the Atlanta murders to the less publicized ones that happen daily to Asian Americans—disgust us and have no place in our society. These terrible acts also move us, as a firm, to seek to continue to provide a workplace free of racism and prejudicial conduct. As part of our continuing efforts to strive for a fully inclusive and diverse firm, WSHB's Diversity, Equality & Inclusion Task Force has developed a series of initiatives to recruit, retain, support and advance all minorities, women and underrepresented members of our communities. Working side by side with the DE&I Task Force, the Management Committee of WSHB is fully committed to doing what we can to help stem racism and bias at all levels so that we can be part of a better world.
Asian Americans have always and will continue to play an important and vital role in our country, our communities, and very importantly, here at WSHB. Our hearts go out to all victims of violence and acts of racism, and we will continue to stand with and fully support our Asian American friends and co-workers as we denounce hate crime and prejudice at all levels. I hope you will all join me in offering this support.