Actress Sandra Oh has delivered a powerful speech at a Stop Asian Hate rally in the US city of Pittsburgh, in response to the recent, concerning rise in anti-Asian hate crimes.
The Grey’s Anatomy and Killing Eve star was seen in various videos posted to social media, addressing the crowd through a megaphone. She said:
“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 to everyone willing to listen. 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 continued, 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?”
Sandra Oh addressed the crowd with intense passion, as seen below:
BREAKING: Sandra Oh speaks at a “Stop Asian Hate” demonstration in Oakland to about 250 people.
“I am proud to be Asian,” she says. “We belong here.” pic.twitter.com/BCAtBpn4QQ
— Rebecca Johnson (@rebeccapaigejo) March 20, 2021
Actress Sandra Oh speaks during the Stop Asian Hate rally in Pittsburgh pic.twitter.com/Bgels4hNio
— Kristina Serafini (@KristinaS_Trib) March 20, 2021
The crowd yelled back “yes!”, and she continued: “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.’”
She then shouted: “I am proud to be Asian! I belong here!”
Sandra Oh was one of many across the US who joined in demonstrations after the murder of eight people, six of whom were Asian, in a shooting spree at Atlanta spas.
A recent report into anti-Asian hate crimes said that there were 3,795 reports of incidents between March of 2020 and February of 2021.
68% of these involved verbal harassment, and 11% physical assault.
