In late May 2021, President Joe Biden signed the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act into effect. To further raise attention to the act, global K-pop megastars BTS were invited to the White House for a meeting on May 31, 2022–the final day of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
K-Pop Sensation BTS Meet with President Biden to Discuss COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act and Surge of Asian American Hate Crimes
A clip of their meeting with President Biden was posted to the official POTUS Instagram. In the clip, Biden thanked the group for speaking out and for using their platform positively in bringing awareness about discrimination and hate crimes toward AAPI people.
It was great to meet with you, @bts_bighit. Thanks for all you’re doing to raise awareness around the rise in anti-Asian hate crimes and discrimination.
I look forward to sharing more of our conversation soon. pic.twitter.com/LnczTpT2aL
— President Biden (@POTUS) June 1, 2022
Throughout the COVID-19 age, hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders spiked. In the first months of 2021 alone, there were roughly 500 reports of hate crimes toward AAPI citizens.
According to a March 2022 report from the advocacy group Stop AAPI Hate:
“From March 19, 2020 to December 31, 2021, a total of 10,905 hate incidents against Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) persons were reported to Stop AAPI Hate. Of the hate incidents reflected in this report, 4,632 occurred in 2020 (42.5%) and 6,273 occurred in 2021 (57.5%)”
The report also noted that “Chinese Americans continue to report the most hate incidents (42.8%) of all ethnic groups, followed by Korean (16.1%), P/Filipinx (8.9%), Japanese (8.2%), and Vietnamese Americans (8.0%).” Some pundits have questioned why a Korean boyband was meeting with the president. Going back to March 2021, BTS shared their experiences with discrimination on Twitter and put a massive spotlight on the issue:
#StopAsianHate#StopAAPIHate pic.twitter.com/mOmttkOpOt
— 방탄소년단 (@BTS_twt) March 30, 2021
BTS would express to Biden that they were appreciative of him signing the act a year ago in the clip. Their meeting comes on the same day that the president met with New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern to discuss the recent mass shootings, gun control, China, trade, and climate change.
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