CNN reporter chokes on ‘cathartic’ Biden speech

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CNN correspondent Amara Walker held back tears as she narrated live from Atlanta President BidenJoe Biden Russia, China Tensions Rise With White House New Challenges Emerge For Biden After Strong Start Feinstein Opens Door To Support Filibuster Reform MORE‘s speech condemning the spike in violence against Asian Americans in the past year.

Walker, who is a Korean American, said after Biden’s speech, in which he called Americans to unite against hatred and racism in the US that she “cannot stress enough how much it means to the Asian-American community” for Biden and Vice President Harris to visit Atlanta and meet local leaders after Tuesday’s shooting in massage salons in the Surface.

Eight people were killed in the attack, including six women of Asian descent. While police have not yet identified a motive, Biden and others have noted that the incident followed an increase in hate crimes against Asian Americans during the pandemic.

“For the president to come and say, ‘I see you, I hear you, I feel your pain,’ ‘Li said on Friday before stopping when she started to visibly suffocate,’ and to address this issue, I think a lot of us – it’s a cathartic moment because the first step is to be seen and heard. ”

“And the fact that the vice president also acknowledges the history of racism against Asians that we’ve been dealing with since the day the Chinese immigrants began emigrating to the United States,” Walker added, referring to Harris’ own comments prior to Biden’s speech Friday. .

The CNN reporter echoed Harris’s comment that Asian Americans feel like they don’t belong in the US, adding, “if you are a foreigner in your own country, you are being dehumanized and not taken seriously.”

“If a crime has been committed against you or your community, even the police can dismiss it because the perpetrator was just having a bad day,” referring to controversial comments made this week by an Atlanta police spokesman who was later deleted from the shooting case.

Walker addressed the police officer’s comment minutes later in the broadcast, saying the shooter characterization sparked a “deep-seated” response from many Asian Americans.

“That’s because Asian Americans have felt for so long that they have not been taken seriously, they have not been seen,” she said.

“I grew up in a community where we were probably the only Asian family on our street,” Walker said. ‘I remember cars passing by, I heard racist comments. I remember my dad’s car, our family car, which was destroyed a few times and once someone threw a hammer in the window. ”

She added that she and her relatives are called “China virus”, the term being the former President TrumpDonald TrumpIllinois House Passes Resolution Condemning State Representative. for ‘standing with insurgents’ Florida Democrats are calling for renewed elections after former senator allegedly messed with race Biden and Harris discussed voting rights with Stacey Abrams in Atlanta MORE used repeatedly to describe COVID-19, or told to “go back to your country”.

“This is our experience. This is our reality, ”she said.

Walker’s comments came the same day that Fox Business reporter Susan Li shared her own personal encounters with racism, including instances where people passed her and her relatives yelling ‘virus’ at them.

It’s just something that has to stop. Someone has to stand up for us, ”said Li. “Hopefully something will come from the White House and maybe something from Congress in charges and increased police would be great too.”

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