K-pop supergroup BTS will head to the White House next week to meet with President Joe Biden to discuss anti-Asian hate crimes and discrimination. The group will meet with Biden on Tuesday, the final day of Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month, according to the White House.
The US has seen an uptick in anti-Asian crime and hostility amid the COVID-19 pandemic, including shootings in Atlanta last year that put a spotlight on violence against Asian Americans. Between March 2020 and December 2021, more than 10,000 hate incidents against AAPI people were reported to advocacy group Stop AAPI Hate. A Pew Research Center survey released earlier this month found that about a third of AAPI adults say “they have altered their daily schedule or routine in the past 12 months due to worries that they might be threatened or attacked.”
In May 2021, Biden signed into law the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, which aims to address hate crimes with a focus on violence against Asian Americans.
During the meeting next week, BTS is also expected to discuss diversity and inclusion, as well as the group’s platform and reach with young fans, according to the White House.
