Over the weekend, thousands of people in different cities across the country gathered to rally against Asian hate crimes, following the Georgia spa and massage parlor shootings that killed 8 people, six of whom were Asian women. Killing Eve star Sandra Oh was among the crowd at a Stop Asian Hate rally in Pittsburgh.
The actress made a surprise appearance on Saturday and stepped out to the middle of the street with a megaphone to deliver a short but passionate and powerful speech. "For many of us in our community, this is the first time we are even able to voice our fear and our anger, and I really am so grateful for everyone willing to listen," she said. "One thing that I know is that many in our community are very scared, and I understand that. And one way to go through our fear is to reach out to our community."
She then posed a challenge to her audience, saying, "To everyone here … I will challenge everyone here if you see something, will you help me? If you see one of our sisters and brothers in need, will you help us?" To which the people responded with a resounding, "Yes!" She then specifically addressed the Asian-Americans in the crowd, "We must understand, as Asian Americans, we just need to reach out our hand to our sisters and brothers and say, 'Help me and I'm here.'"
Oh ended her speech by yelling, "I am proud to be Asian! I belong here!" She asked the Pittsburgh protesters to do the same, and said, "Many of us don't get that chance to be able to say that, so I just wanted to give us an opportunity to be able to shout that."
The award-winning actress has been vocal on social media in condemning acts of hate against Asians, which have been on the rise in the U.S. since the COVID-19 pandemic began. In the past year, over 3,800 anti-Asian racist incidents have been reported, and mostly against women.
To read about how you can help stop anti-Asian hate crimes, click here.
Photo via BFA