At Faith Lutheran we are a family and thus must not shy away from potentially sensitive issues that impact us. Our school community would not be what it is today without our AAPI colleagues, students, teachers, parents, and friends. We continue to commit to having hard conversations, listening, and loving each other as Christ modeled for us and instructed us.
Dear Faith Lutheran Community,
We are heartbroken by the physical, verbal, and social media attacks of Asian American individuals around the country. Our belief is that safety extends far beyond education. We stand with our AAPI (Asian American & Pacific Islander) community and will continue to support them in their campaign for unity. As Christians and educators, we are committed to sustaining a world in which people of color are not targets for violence.
At Faith Lutheran we are a family and thus must not shy away from potentially sensitive issues that impact us. Our school community would not be what it is today without our AAPI colleagues, students, teachers, parents, and friends. We continue to commit to having hard conversations, listening, and loving each other as Christ modeled for us and instructed us.
“As a half-Korean and half-Chinese student, I am frightened and disturbed by the cultural implications tied to the ongoing, dehumanizing violence directed towards Asian Americans in this country. Asian Americans should never feel like they are not “American-enough” or have their voices forgotten or put-down. Instead of creating incomplete single stories for Asian Americans, we need to expel the “model minority” myth and distinguish racist and insensitive language.” - Carina Kim (Class of 2021)
The artwork by Marla Villaneuva, Class of 2024, for a social issue research project in Mrs. Mettmann’s Studio Art class. She explains,
“For my social issue research topic I created a piece of art about the racism Asian people, specifically Chinese, have faced since the outbreak of COVID-19. In my article, I found that between February and April there was a 300% increase in racist and violent hashtags against China and Chinese people. This was due to the outbreak of Covid-19 originating in China. After reading this article, I feel sick that people would go to such an extreme to bully a race where each individual directly had no control over the situation. I made this piece to bring awareness to the bullying of Chinese and Asian people for this issue that has been buried under all the other hardships of 2020” (https://www.tuc.org.uk/blogs/i-am-not-virus-anti-chinese-racism-and-coronavirus).
The recent increase in reported violence has left many reflecting on their personal experience of verbal and physical attacks. We write this to show our full support for the AAPI community and to remind our Faith Lutheran family that we have counselors and staff - listed below - available to you when needed. Please join us in praying for all victims of senseless violence of this kind and pray that God may open the eyes and minds of those blinded to the fact that Christ’s blood saves us all regardless of color or nation of origin.
- International Student Director, Alex Klenz - alex.klenz@flhsemail.org
- HS Social Emotional Counselor, Elaynne Washington - washingtone@flhsemail.org
- HS Counselor for Last Names A-I, John Chilman - chilmanj@flhsemail.org
- HS Counselor for Last Names J-Z, Lynn Ann Lescenski - lescenskil@flhsemail.org
- 6th Grade Counselor, Dr. Karl Knorr - knorrk@flhsemail.org
- MS Counseling Director, Courtney Burns (and Esther Bean) - burnsc@flhsemail.org
Resources for Victims of AAPI Hate:
Resources for Families:
Updated 3/25/3021
