US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris visited Atlanta on Friday to reach out to Asian Americans, days after a gunman opened fire killing 8 people, mostly Asian American women.
Biden vowed to push for the Covid-19 Hate Crimes Act, a bill to strengthen the government's reporting and response to hate crimes and provide resources to Asian American communities.
"Hate and violence often hide in plain sight and it's often met with silence. That's been true throughout our history, but that has to change. Because our silence is complicity. We cannot be complicit. We have to speak out. We have to act," he said.
2020 marked increase in the number of racial hate crimes reported against people of Asian descent in America. Nearly 3,800 incidents have been reported to Stop AAPI Hate, a California-based reporting centre for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
"Racism is real in America. And it has always been. Xenophobia is real in America, and always has been. Sexism, too. The president and I will not be silent", said Harris.