Actor Daniel Dae Kim spoke before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties on Thursday, urging lawmakers to pass bills condemning anti-Asian sentiment. The Good Doctor producer and actor spoke alongside prominent Asian American lawmakers, scholars, and advocates, including Representatives Grace Meng and Judy Chu, Democrats from New York and California, respectively. In his speech, he called out conservatives for voting against such a resolution last year. “I was disheartened to find that for a bill that required no money or resources, just a simple condemnation of acts of hate against people of Asian descent, 164 members of Congress, all Republican voted against it,†he said. “And now here I am again, because as every witness in this hearing has pointed out, the situation has gotten worse, much worse.â€
Kim honored the lives of Asian Americans who have been murdered or violently attacked, including the six Asian women who were killed in Georgia yesterday. The shooting rampage at three spas in the Atlanta area left eight dead in total: Xiaojie Tan, Delaina Ashley Yaun, Paul Andre Michels, Daoyou Feng, Julie Park, Park Hyeon Jeong, and two others whose names are unreleased. “There are several moments in a country’s history that chart its course indelibly for the future. For Asian Americans, that moment is now. What happens right now and over the course of the coming months will send a message for generations to come as to whether we matter, whether the country we call home chooses to erase us or include us, dismiss us or respect us, invisibilize us or see us. Because you may consider us statistically insignificant now, but one more fact that has no alternative is that we are the fastest-growing racial demographic in the country. We are 23 million strong. We are united, and we are waking up.â€