RCRD stands with the AAPI Community

RCRD stands with the AAPI Community

Rat City Roller Derby stands with our Asian skaters, volunteers, fans, and all those advocating for a more just, inclusive and equitable world. We celebrate diversity and value representation on our teams and beyond.

We are deeply troubled by the global rise in discrimination and racism against members of the Asian community. The wave of hostility comes in many forms: violence, verbal assaults and racial slurs camouflaged as “jokes” and microaggressions. This is not ok, and we simply must do better. Speaking up when you see injustice is just the starting point.

Other ways to help include supporting AAPI-owned businesses, reporting incidents to Stop AAPI Hate, amplifying Asian voices and stories, reaching out to your close friends in the AAPI community to listen and offer support, and continuing to educate yourself and others on how to be anti-racist.

White supremacy is at the root of both anti-Asian violence and anti-Black violence, and this is a reminder that we need to continue to fight systemic racism.

Additionally, there is a long history of sexualization and violence against Asian women in the United States. The role this harmful stereotype played in recent and ongoing violence cannot be ignored. We support sex workers and the decriminalization of sex work that would allow people in the industry to do their jobs safely.

Last June we wrote about our anti-racism actions, and our plan to continue the anti-racism work within our own league.

We have honored that commitment by holding monthly anti-racism trainings and evaluating our policies, but we have only just started to do the work. We need to prioritize the experiences and voices of BIPoC. As we return to a post-COVID world where we can host activities and events we need to honor our commitment to invest in BIPoC businesses and BIPoC artists by hiring them over white-owned businesses and white artists. We are working to make Rat City Roller Derby a safe space for skaters, volunteers and fans of color.

Our delay in posting a statement of support to our skaters and friends in the AAPI community may have caused harm, and for that we apologize. We are learning, and we are working to be better allies and accomplices

As our own Punchy O’Guts wrote in our original anti-racism commitment post: “We as individuals and we as a league will be open and grateful if/when we are called out/in for any actions, decision-making, or communication that is viewed as harmful, racially insensitive, or discriminatory. We will not respond with defensiveness, tone policing, or white fragility. We will sit in our discomfort, acknowledge how we have been harmful, immediately address the issue, and make changes.”