We wrote this resolution to help empower individuals and communities, especially our elected government officials, to speak out against hate toward Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders and other individuals of Asian heritage in the United States (AAPIs).

Some might ask: if a resolution is just words on paper, what’s the point? And we’d respond: because words have power. We believe that communities should take action to support, educate and lift people up. Putting words on paper and committing to stand by them is a step in that direction.

These words are not perfect, and they are not meant to be. This resolution is a starting point, a resource you can use to take action in your community against AAPI hate. It is also a living document that we can update, and we invite you to share your ideas with us at resolution@stopaapihate.org. Here is a link to a docx file of our template, and here is the pdf version. The docx file has text that is easy to copy, edit and make the words your own.

Many state, city, county and other local governmental bodies across the country have passed resolutions in solidarity with the AAPI community, which we have compiled and will continue to update. (They are organized here by level of government.) Our template uses the same format as most of these resolutions. It starts with a series of statements explaining why the community feels a need to take action (“WHEREAS, [a reason to do something]”).  It then follows with the commitments that the community makes (“NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT, [a commitment to act]”).

We wanted the template to tell a story. It opens with a universal statement grounded in our values as a country. It identifies who the AAPI community includes. It draws a through-line in American history to show how our past connects to our present, uses data to establish what’s happening today and touches on our painful, open wounds. It connects the struggles of AAPIs with solidarity across intersecting identities and the fundamental rights of all people.

The template is a starting point. You can tailor it to make a statement that will resonate with your community. Prompts for inspiration on what you might add to it:

• Provide information about the presence of AAPIs in your community
• Affirm the positive actions that your community has already taken or committed to take
• Call for specific actions to be taken by public officials and community leaders
• Consider calling out specific incidents of AAPI hate that have touched your community
  • If you do, however, please be mindful that the individuals who have been affected most directly might not want to be publicly named as victims – don’t use names without asking first

For another resource on how to talk about these issues, please check out our content guidelines.

We hope you find this helpful. Your best resource will always be the people in your community who care most about making it a better place.

Stop AAPI Hate expresses its gratitude to the enthusiastic team at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP who supported this work. The Davis Polk team includes Andrew B. Samuel, Diane O. Lucas, James Jiang, Jennifer Kim, James (Chih-Kai) Lin, Gilbert Lim, Andrew Xiang, Wenjia Yu, Malcolm Samuel Steinberg, Fei Deng, Ivey Eugene, Jillian T. Fox, Michael B. Haney, Omar Hersi, Shanzah Khan, Ji Hwan Kim, Onuoha Odim, Emily Park, Alex Wheeler, Jeff Wu, Linyang Wu, and Maggie Xing. Members of the Davis Polk team wish to express gratitude for the chance to collaborate with Stop AAPI Hate and put their skills to use for the cause of racial justice.