WASHINGTON -
Okay-Pop sensation BTS visited the White Home on Tuesday to speak with U.S. President Joe Biden about combating the rise in hate crimes concentrating on Asian Individuals - bringing celebrity sizzle to an in any other case unhappy and scary subject.
Band members J-Hope, RM, Suga, Jungkook, V, Jin and Jimin joined White Home press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre at her briefing with reporters on the ultimate day of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Jimin stated the band had been “devastated by the latest surge” of crime and intolerance towards Asian Individuals that has continued for the reason that begin of the coronavirus pandemic.
“It is not improper to be completely different,” Suga stated by means of an interpreter. “Equality begins once we open up and embrace all of our variations.” V stated that “everybody has their very own historical past.”
“We hope as we speak is one step ahead to understanding and respecting every and everybody as a precious individual,” V added.
The band members wore black fits and ties and took turns briefly stepping to the rostrum. They received a tour of the White Home earlier than the briefing, and held a closed-door assembly with the president within the Oval Workplace afterward. Biden administration officers have spent latest weeks holding roundtable discussions and different conferences with Asian American leaders to debate the violence.
Since its debut in 2013, BTS has garnered international recognition for the members' self-produced music and activism, together with an look on the United Nations. The band topped the Billboard Sizzling 100 chart 3 times in 2020, and was nominated for outstanding music awards just like the Grammys, Billboard Music Awards and MTV Video Music Awards.
The usually cramped White Home briefing room was much more jammed than traditional, as journalists on-hand to cowl BTS packed the aisles alongside the rows of seats assigned to shops who frequently attend. The White Home livestream - not recognized for giant, middle-of-the-afternoon audiences - attracted greater than 230,000 viewers earlier than the occasion even started.
After the band members spoke and had their feedback translated, reporters started to ask them questions, however Jean-Pierre - who had stated beforehand that members would not take questions - intervened, saying, “We're gonna go.” That prompted BTS members to supply, “We're sorry” as they filed away from the rostrum.
Following the band was Brian Deese, director of the White Home Nationwide Financial Council, who was there to deal with reporters after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's assembly with Biden earlier within the day.
“I get to go house and inform my youngsters that BTS opened for me,” Deese joked, including that he was certain the room was “as excited” to speak about inflation's impression on the U.S. economic system as they'd been for the band.
The scene was enjoyable however the situation that introduced the group to the White Home was not. The rise in anti-Asian hate crimes and discrimination since 2020 has included the March 2021 killing of eight individuals at Atlanta-area therapeutic massage companies, together with six ladies of Asian descent.
Following these shootings, Asian American organizations throughout the U.S. staged unity occasions and took to social media to name for an finish to racist assaults. Inside days, BTS tweeted, “We stand towards racial discrimination” and included the hashtags #StopAsianHate and #StopAAPIHate.
“We condemn violence. You, I and all of us have the precise to be revered,” BTS wrote then. “We are going to stand collectively.”
On Tuesday, the band thanked its followers, with Jungkook saying, “We nonetheless really feel stunned that music created by South Korean artists reaches so many individuals around the globe, transcending language and cultural boundaries.”
“We consider music is all the time an incredible and great unifier of all issues,” he added.
Jean-Pierre stated BTS is hoping “to fight racism, xenophobia, intolerance” that Asian communities have confronted. She famous that Biden signed laws combating COVID-19 hate crimes and issued an government order reestablishing the White Home initiative on Asian Individuals, Native Hawaiians and Pacific islanders, whereas serving to to advertise analysis to stop racism towards such communities.
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