In Memoriam

(4/16/2021) We have been grieving for the six Asian women who were murdered last month in the Atlanta area. The long violent history of misogyny, systemic racism, and white supremacy continues to weigh on working-class communities of color in Georgia and throughout the United States. Please read a community centered response (available in Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese).

Our interconnected struggle for co-liberation is grounded in the Earth that nourishes us and in a multiracial coalition fighting for a Georgia where everyone is free to flourish. While we grieve, we find healing strength in intergenerational narratives that anchor us in our deep knowledge and love for ourselves and each other.

On March 16, 2021, six Asian women were murdered in the Atlanta area. Each woman had a full and complex life. In these women we see our moms, aunts, daughters, and sisters. As they join our ancestors, their legacies are now part of our collective history.

In this moment, we offer healing words as seeds of inspiration and comfort for the long path ahead. Healing takes time, time is healing; they differ for each individual. In memoriam, we hope this community-centered series offers solace for our mending hearts.

With the Spring Equinox, we find meaning in natural life forms that perpetually adapt and regenerate. The weeping willow tree is one of the first trees in Georgia to produce leaves during the spring. Its sweeping branches bend without breaking and welcomes feelings of safety and belonging.

In the early 20th century, many Koreans left their homelands to escape imperial rule carrying spacious dreams. Mugunghwa, Korea’s “eternal blossom that never fades”, represents the long and difficult journey of its diaspora. Highly tolerant of adverse conditions, the Korean rose shares similar origins with the Cherokee rose, a symbol of Indigenous women’s inherent strength.

The Luna moth, also known as the Asian American moon moth, is sometimes found in the South during its brief lifespan on Earth. A vulnerable nocturnal species, they fly with their wings wide open, determined to find light.

Likewise, we carry on with love for our intersectional communities as our north star. It is in our nature to survive, adapt, and take care of each other.

“Meet all kinds of people. You’ll learn something from everyone. Follow what you feel in your heart.” — Yuri Kochiyama

When the heart aches, the whole body aches. This aching has existed for a long time, carried by generations of Indigenous, immigrant and enslaved women. Our liberation is collective, we move together and heal with people we know and care about.

Our movement is possible because of the enduring lifeforce of Black women, whose deep knowledge continues to nurture our shared vision for a just world.

In shared grief and hope, we are showing up for our beloved Georgia community.

“what we have, our power to examine and to redefine the terms upon which we will live and work; our power to envision and to reconstruct, anger by painful anger, stone upon heavy stone, a future of pollinating difference and the earth to support our choices.” — Audre Lorde, Sister Outsider

Self described as “Black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet”, ancestor Audre Lorde gifted us with powerful poetry that emphasized the importance of self-determination.

She diagnosed silence as a pathology and gave voice to the interwoven nature of race, sexuality, and class. Her constellations of words provide affirmation.

We must allow ourselves to feel all our emotions, not suppress them, in order to acknowledge the damage that is inflicted upon and within us and our communities.

“Violence weaves through the daily tissues of our living” (Sister Outsider). We have what we need, our emotions guide us with information and energy. The feelings that dwell and swell within us must be treated with compassion and care. Find someone you trust to receive your felt expressions: visual, audio, spiritual.

“Transform yourself to transform the world.” — Grace Lee Boggs

Generations prior, star gazers identified patterns in the infinite sky to navigate the lands and seas. Formed by nine stars, the Pisces constellation represents two fish swimming in opposite directions connected by a cord.

Ancestor Grace Lee Boggs taught us dialectical humanism, a way of thinking both/and, especially with contradictions. “Transform yourself to transform the world”. Yin-Yang is both/and, together and balanced.

We want to affirm that every one of us is whole. Our wholeness is experienced in connection and with a gentle balance. We rest to reset and we move to let energy flow. We take in and we let go.

Try a grounding exercise: if your body allows, have your feet planted on the ground. Feel and visualize the depth of the Earth receiving us and sustaining us. Think about the top point of your head — that is where the sky receives you, connecting you to the Earth.

You belong where you are, between the Earth and the sky.

Within us, and together, we are interconnected and interdependent with our natural surroundings. Community care is the foundation of togetherness, accept the support you are offered. We exist here and now, connecting the past and the future, ebbing and flowing in our fullness.

This post sought wisdom from “A Lineage of Healing: A Workshop with TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) Practitioner Donna Mah” Watch the full workshop here.

“Never forget your roots. Never forget where you came from, for forgetting exposes your greatest weaknesses and hides your greatest strengths.” — Chris Fong Chew, From Which You Came

While looking to our ancestors we also seek wisdom from our youth. Our lineage extends in both directions, past and future. We were moved by Dear Asian Youth’s message for children of immigrants by Chris Fong Chew, “From Which You Came”.

Chris invites us to ground ourselves: “As you focus on clearing your generational trauma, do not forget to claim your generational strengths. Your ancestors gave you more than just wounds.”

Please read the poem in full.

Willow trees have shallow root systems, finding home almost anywhere, constantly seeking water. While willows don’t always receive the moisture it needs, they survive. Instead of reaching for the sky, their branches weep, wanting to be with their roots.

By existing we are descendants and ascendants, standing on the shoulders of those who stood before us, and shouldering muscle and memory for those to come. As resilience flows through our veins, we encourage you to move with intention and patience. Here are some ways you can build your resilience.

“사랑하면 알게 되고 알면 보이나니 그 때 보이는 것은 전과 같지 않으리라.” If you love, you will know, and if you know, you will see. What you see then will not be the same as before. — 兪漢雋 & 유홍준

We asked Su Choe, Asian American Advocacy Fund’s Korean Community Organizer, for wisdom that guides her.

From Su:

“사랑하면 알게 되고 알면 보이나니 그 때 보이는 것은 전과 같지 않으리라.

If you love, you will know, and if you know, you will see. What you see then will not be the same as before.

The original version of this proverb was written by Yu Han-Jun (1732–1811) from the Joseon Dynasty. This quote was then adapted by South Korean art historian Yu Hong-Jun, emphasizing the importance of preserving cultural heritage. These words affirm my determination to deliver unspoken stories of people.

The recent tragedy of my neighbors really seized my thinking and feelings. I ignored the reality for many years because I lacked empathy for myself. After going through the stages of anger, grieving, and healing, I have started to deeply care for myself. I now know what I did not want to see before. My voice is my power.”

Calligraphy by Su’s friend, Saerom Chung 새롬캘리.

“The memory is the entire. The longing in the face of the lost. Maintains the missing. Fixed between the wax and wane indefinite not a sign of progress. All else age, in time. Except. Some are without.” — Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, Dictee

Uprooted by the Korean War, Theresa Hak Kyung Cha and her family immigrated to the United States in 1962 when she was twelve years old. As an experimental poet, performance and multimedia artist, Theresa explored language, meaning, and memory in the shadows of violent dispossession. Dictee was published days before her murder, her fragmented and mythic representations of women endure as her last offering.

May 4, 2021 marked the 49th day after six Asian women were killed in the Atlanta area. During this period of time, their spirits lingered in the realm between living and dead, receiving kind ancestral prayers to navigate this abyss. We’ll continue to remember them as they journey through their next life cycle.

When they emerge from their cocoons, female Luna moths devote their remaining time on Earth to produce offspring. Luna moths mimic our mystical moon with crescent eyespots on their wings, a pattern which protects them from their predators. Young moths carry on this evolutionary birthmark, not knowing the sacrifices their mothers made for their survival. Waxing and waning, the new moon shines even when the earth is in total darkness. “The memory is the entire.”

The Asian American Advocacy Fund is a grassroots 501(c)4 social welfare organization dedicated to building a politically-conscious, engaged, and progressive Asian American base in Georgia.

Healing takes time, time is healing; they differ for each individual. In memoriam, we hope this community-centered series offers solace for our mending hearts.