An Asian-American township trustee and US army veteran has unbuttoned his shirt during a Town Hall meeting to send an important message about racism in the US.
Trustee Lee Wong was speaking at a West Chester Township meeting in front of members of the community when he started to speak about his experiences since immigrating to America when he was 18-year-old.
During the comments section of the meeting, 69-year-old Wong spoke about a time when he was beaten up in Chicago due to his race. After taking his attackers to court, Wong revealed they received no punishment.
"For too long, we have, I have, put up with a lot of s*** in silence, excuse the language, too afraid to speak out, fearing more abuse and discrimination," Wong said during Tuesday's board meeting.
"Things are getting worse and worse," Wong said.
During his impassioned speech, Wong opened his shirt to show a series of scars across his chest.
As he took off his tie and unbuttoned his shirt, Wong said that will not tolerate racism anymore, telling those in attendance:
"People question my patriotism, that I don't look American enough.
"They could not get over this face. I want to show you something, because I'm not afraid. I don’t have to live in fear, intimidation, insults."
Wong - lifting his vest to show his scars - then told the community: "This is sustained from my service in the US military. Is this patriotic enough?
"I'm not ashamed to walk around anymore."
Per Cincinnati.com, Wong served 20 years in the military.
At the conclusion of his speech, Wong said: "We are all the same. We are all equal." He then walked away from the dais with his jacket in his hand.
The veteran's words come after eight people - six of whom were Asian - were killed in an attack on spas in Atlanta.
NBC News reports that the number of recorded hate crimes against Asian-American people in the United States has increased sharply over the last year.
According to a report from the organization Stop AAPI Hate, approximately anti-Asian 3,800 incidents were reported in the US between February 2020 and March 2021 - around 1,200 more hate incidents than the previous year.
Commenting on the data, a professor of Asian American studies at San Francisco State University Russell Yeung told NBC: "There is an intersectional dynamic going on that others may perceive both Asians and women and Asian women as easier targets."
