Portraits of the Atlanta Shootings Victims
This project is dedicated to the the Asian victims we lost on March 16, 2021.
On that day, 6 Asian lives were killed due to shootings at Atlanta, Georgia. This was an Asian hate crime and the Asian community was in shocked.
Instead of seeing the gunman’s face on the internet over and over again, Diet Prada, Beck Hong, and Draw A Dot decided to create a series of portraits to honor the Asian victims who were killed at the shootings. The portraits have colorful backgrounds because we would want to celebrate their lives.
Here are some thoughts from Beck and Diet Prada on this project and the current Asian Hate Crimes situation.
“Speaking up is one tool we all possess. With the racial reckoning this past year, many people have started having the necessary conversations about racism that they weren’t comfortable with having before.
We hope people will continue to listen to and amplify the voices of marginalized communities and their leaders. They are integral to understanding the way forward.
With this portrait series, we hope it will prompt people to take a moment and remember the lives of these immigrant women who sacrificed so much to be American.” – Tony Liu and Lindsey Schuyler from Diet Prada
“The struggles associated with being AAPI is rarely discussed, unfortunately. However, if you are surprised by the anti-Asian violence, you have not been listening. There have been so many warning signs throughout history. Now this is really the time to connect with us and hear our voice, the cries that we matter.” – Beck Hong
While looking at these portraits, we hope you can also take time to reflect and think of ways to support the Asian community. We need more people to amplify the voices in the Asian community. Some of the things you can do include checking in with your Asian friends and protect them from verbal abuse. You can also donate to non-profit organizations such as Hate Is A Virus and AAPI Go Fund Me.
Please feel free to share these portraits on your social media platforms. If you do that, please make sure you tag Diet Prada, Beck Hong, and Draw A Dot.