In late March 2021, the murders of 6 Asian American women in Atlanta brought new attention to a disturbing and hateful trend of growing violence against members of the Asian American community, a legacy of the anti-Asian sentiment built and nurtured by white supremacist culture in America. As philanthropy – and many other groups and sectors within the US – came together to decry the hatred, many Asian American and Pacific Islander (AA/PI) individuals within the sector were left to grapple with the impact of a moment that resonated both personally and professionally.

Below, four Asian American members of the philanthropic community – Claudia Leung, Jonny Moy, Jennifer Nguyen, and Cristiana Baik  – share their perspectives on the violence, immediate philanthropic response, and hopes for the sector’s commitment to AA/PI communities long-term.

This is part two of two reflections from these four leaders within our membership.

In education philanthropy, we share a collective sense of urgency to find the appropriate solutions to mitigate the achievement gap. Yet, we each concentrate our time on pursuing distinct but complementary missions. How many of us find ourselves wishing we could team up with other organizations to share collective learning and coordinate our efforts?