Sandra Oh, the Asian actor perhaps best known for her role on Gray’s Anatomy, gave a short but rousing speech on Saturday that let the world know she’s proud to be Asian.
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The speech, delivered at a “Stop Asian Hate” rally in Pittsburgh, was part of a wave of statements and events across the United States following the Atlanta shooting spree last week that left six Asian women among the eight people murdered.
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Oh’s speech was captured on video by The Pitt News, the student newspaper for the University of Pittsburgh.
Oh, speaking through a bullhorn, told the crowd, “Pittsburgh, I am so happy and proud to be here with you, and thank you to all the organizers for organizing this just to give us an opportunity to be together and to stand together and to feel each other.”
She then 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.”
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The speech then pivoted, with Oh saying, “I know many of us in our community and very scared and I understand that. One way to get through our fear is to reach out to our communities.”
She then turned to the crowd, saying. “I will challenge everyone here, if you see something, will you help me?” and then “Will you help us?”
Responding to the crowd’s positive assent, she noted, “We must understand as Asian Americans we just need to reach out our hands to our sisters and brothers and say, ‘Help me,’ and, ‘I am here.’”
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She concluded the speech with the declaration, “I am proud to be Asian!” She then encouraged others to say it as well, commenting after hearing it, “Many of us don’t get the chance to be able to say that, so I just wanted to give us an opportunity to be able to shout that.”
Today noted, in its coverage of Oh’s speech, that although she’s rarely on social media, she engaged after the shooting, including a message that said, “I send loving kindness and support to the families of the eight souls murdered in Georgia on March 16th. And to all victims of racist violence. I am devastated and profoundly angry. I know many of you are scared, but let us not be afraid.”
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*First Published: March 24, 2021, 5:48 am
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