BTS is going to help Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander Heritage Month go out with a bang.
On May 31, the last day of AANHPI Heritage Month, the group will join President Biden at the White House to talk about Asian inclusion and representation, and also discuss anti-Asian discrimination and hate crimes, which have increased in recent years in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In March of 2021, BTS issued a strongly worded statement condemning the recent wave of anti-Asian hate and violence in the U.S. "We stand against racial discrimination. We condemn violence," the K-pop superstars wrote. "You, I and we all have the right to be respected. We will stand together."
The group also detailed their own experiences as the victims of racism, writing, "We cannot put into words the pain of becoming the subject of hatred and violence for such a reason...these experiences were enough to make us feel powerless and chip away our self-esteem."
They added the hashtags #StopAsianHate and #StopAAPIHate.
President Biden signed into law the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act in May 2021, which provides law enforcement with resources to identify, investigate, and report hate crimes, and ensure that hate crimes information is more accessible to AA and NHPI communities.