The House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing Thursday on violence against the Asian American community amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a press release.
Committee members announced Tuesday that the panel will interview several Asian American members of Congress, including Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), and will address rises in hate speech, physical attacks and other discrimination faced by Asian Americans in recent months.
The Judiciary Committee’s hearing comes as attacks against Asian Americans and in particular elderly members of the community have sparked outrage nationwide. Many of the attacks have occurred in New York City and Oakland, Calif., where significant Asian American community centers are located.
In February, a Buddhist temple was vandalized and set on fire in Los Angeles, while just days ago, a man was arrested for allegedly shoving a 75-year-old Asian American man to the ground in Oakland’s Chinatown district.
“Our own seniors in Chinatown, they call me and they say they are afraid to go out and walk on their own streets. That’s pretty sad in the middle of a pandemic,” the head of Oakland’s Chamber of Commerce said after the latest incident.
Prominent celebrities in the Asian American community have also spoken out about the violence, including actor Daniel Dae Kim.
“The number of hate crimes against Asian Americans continues to skyrocket, despite our repeated pleas for help,” Kim wrote on Instagram last month. “The crimes are too often ignored and even excused. … #EnoughisEnough.”