Chatham Borough Councilwoman Denounces Racism and Violence

Dear Neighbors:

The racist hate and violence we're witnessing and experiencing in America is unacceptable. We can all do our part by denouncing racism in all forms. Following are my full remarks at Chatham Borough's Council meeting on March 22, 2021:

The mass shooting last week at 3, Asian-owned businesses in Atlanta was the boiling point for an established pattern of race-based violence targeting the Asian American Pacific Islander community.

The nonprofit group Stop AAPI Hate has been tracking anti-Asian hate incidents since March of last year and has reported 3,800 such incidents during that time, originating from all 50 states. While anti-Asian violence is not new, the number of incidents has increased exponentially during the current pandemic.

I am grieving thinking about the violent and hateful legacy we are leaving for our children, and fear that we are growing too accustomed to it. While Chatham is fortunate to not have directly experienced the violence we have seen in across the country (and our PD has confirmed that there have been no such incidents reported in the Borough), neither are we immune. The words that we speak matter. Jokes are not just jokes when they dehumanize. Hate speech does not have to be illegal in order to be deadly. Such hate has lasting effects and we are all responsible for calling it out, whether it’s a stranger or a close relative or a dear friend. Such hate should not be tolerated in any circumstance, especially since silence is often taken as affirmation.

During the past year in Chatham, we have seen that when our community is in crisis, we band together. We see this with the weekly food drive, the Keep Chatham Thriving campaign to support local businesses, and this past weekend, the enthusiastic support for the grand opening of Sonny’s Indian Kitchen and the #StopAsianHate Rally organized by Chatham Borough residents.

In that vein, we need each and every one of us to summon our compassion and to teach the next generation to do better than we are currently managing. Long-lasting change starts with each one of us as individuals. I challenge each of us to model the behavior that we want to see throughout the country, we will all be better for it.

In the meantime, Chief Gibbons has encouraged anyone experiencing or witnessing a bias incident to contact the police department. A link to the PD’s Bias Crimes flyer is available on the Borough website. While everyone has the right to freedom of speech and expression, we have seen how such speech can lead to violence. The Police Department, and the Mayor and Council, just want to keep a finger on the pulse of our community and ensure that all of our residents feel safe.

Yours,

Irene Choi Treloar

Chatham Borough Councilwoman