President Joe Biden will welcome superstar South Korean group BTS to the White House on Tuesday to “discuss Asian inclusion and representation” and to “address anti-Asian hate crimes and discrimination,” according to an announcement from the White House released Thursday.
Biden and the group “will also discuss the importance of diversity and inclusion and BTS’ platform as youth ambassadors who spread a message of hope and positivity across the world,” the statement continues.
The visit by BTS will take place on May 31, the final day of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
As noted by Politico, the president has been active during the month. He issued a presidential proclamation on April 29 about AANHPI Heritage Month, and he and Vice President Kamala Harris — who is half Indian — hosted a White House reception earlier in the month that included U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai.
Two days later, the White House lauded the passage of legislation to establish a commission to study the possible creation of a National Museum of Asian Pacific American History and Culture.
In recent months the president has welcomed several performers, including Olivia Rodrigo and the Jonas Brothers, to the White House, most often as part of vaccination efforts.
“I am beyond honored and humbled to be here today to help spread the message about the importance of youth vaccination,” Rodrigo said in a press conference. “I’m in awe of the work President Biden and Dr. Fauci have done and was happy to help lend my support to this important initiative.”
Rodrigo continued, “It’s important to have conversations with friends and family members, encouraging all communities to get vaccinated and actually get to a vaccination site, which you can do more easily than ever before given how many sites we have and how easy it is to find them at vaccines.gov.”
