So many celebrities have released messages or videos in support of Black Lives Matter and the protests for George Floyd. I won’t be posting all of them, but I wanted to highlight a few notable messages of support. Beyonce posted the Instagram above on Friday, hours after Derek Chauvin was arrested for George Floyd’s murder:
“We need justice for George Floyd. We all witnessed his murder in broad daylight. We’re broken and we’re disgusted. We cannot normalize this pain,” Beyoncé said in the beginning of the video.
She then continued to point out that regardless of skin color, humans are a family and must stand up for each other in times of injustice. “I’m not only speaking to people of color. If you’re white, black, brown or anything in between, I’m sure you feel hopeless by the racism going on in America right now. No more senseless killings of human beings. No more seeing people of color as less than human. We can no longer look away,” Beyoncé said. “George is all of our family in humanity. He’s our family because he’s a fellow American.”
Though Beyoncé recognized that a police officer has been arrested in connection to Floyd’s death on May 25, she emphasized that more needs to be done.
“There have been too many times that we’ve seen these violent killings, and no consequences. Yes, someone’s been charged, but justice is far from being achieved,” Beyoncé said. “Please sign the petition and continue to pray for peace, compassion and healing for our country.”
Something I think about a lot was the birther campaign, which was fundamentally about denying American citizenship to a black man (Barack Obama) because of the color of his skin. It was eye-opening for me at the time of Obama’s election because I had never seen the pattern of it before, that black and brown Americans are fundamentally seen as “not real Americans” by white people. When Beyonce says “George is all of our family in humanity. He’s our family because he’s a fellow American,” she’s saying that to the white people who want to act like black people don’t really deserve the same rights as them because black folks are “less than” citizens.
Serena Williams’ video and message made me ugly-cry.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid and Avalon Red.
Tired. Feeling powerless. Too many years of it. Worried for family who don’t pass. My kid is now old enough to really understand.
I grew up in Compton, CA. I live in privilege now. Not rich, but in comfort, but it doesn’t matter. I can pass. My kid can’t and much of my family and millions of us can’t, but this is our country, too. We aren’t going anywhere.
Police in this country came to be to protect white landowners from freed slaves. That should be taught in schools, but you can’t control an educated population.
Ugly cry.
Beyoncé’s referral to George Floyd as an American was very moving. Think of how many people of color have given their lives in the service and defense of this country – a country that was denying them rights at home (Muhammad Ali was right about the Viet Cong). A lot of the folks who lined up for the birtherism also big pro-military types but I’ve stopped being amazed at how people can hold contradictory views simultaneously.
For James Baldwin, racism consists in denying the humanity of others man . When you don’t consider the other human as your equal, you allow yourself to treat them worse than an animal without any marks of guilt.
If us following the logic of the whites supremacists and the MAGA followed, no one is really American except the Ameridians who are the only citizens whose all ancestors were born under American territory.Consequently when a MAGA said into to a american’ citizen who are black, asia …etc we will can said to them must also return to his homes in Europe.
Have these people never open a history book or how this people learning history ?
I’m not American, but watching the video of two young people being dragged out of their car after the police broke their windows and tyres… It was too much, I cried for everyone who has to face this kind of undeserved hatred and violence.
Okay, I’m taking shelter already for saying this:
#1 – We all need to speak out for every single person’s rights, no matter what color, gender, orientation, etc. That’s the bottom line.
#2 – It’s a fact when celebrities and famous people speak out it reaches more people which is wonderful.
#3 – Buy why do you need to worry about heavily filtering your post/video so that you look perfect while you speak out? It seems a bit disingenuous – or am I wrong and a great example of a Karen?
Unfortunately the system is not allowing me to delete my comment. Sometimes it’s better to not say anything, and this was the case. I shouldn’t have. Nor is it allowing me to correct the typo – “Buy” should have been “But”
Actually everyone should be supported when speaking out for a good cause, no matter if you’re Beyonce or average person on the street. This issue has been brewing forever and addressing it is long overdue.
Kim,
I’m glad you did comment, bc it gives others the opportunity to address your thoughts and hopefully impart useful information.
There is a need to dismantle systemic racism because it leads to the disproportionate amounts of violence and death that black people suffer at the hands of police officers. A study from 2009-2012 by the NIH showed black people were 2.8 times more likely to die by police. Yes, all people deserve to be protected and treated fairly, but even other marginalized communities have stepped up to speak out against this extreme injustice. Just look at posts from GLAAD and other organizations like this. On top of this, black people fit in to almost all marginalized groups/communities so these communities are speaking up for their own brothers and sisters.
Lastly, since you mentioned being a “Karen” I am going to take a guess that you may be white as am I. Addressing racism and bias can be hard work, but it is definitely worth it. History books do not teach the atrocities that slavery and colonization have wreaked in America and the world. If you have concerns or doubts about this, I beg you to read some of the works of Ta-Nehisi Coates, Austin Channing Brown, Zora Neale Hurston, and Audre Lorde to name a few. Privilege does not mean bad or evil unless it remains left in place to keep the status quo. All types of people are mistreated for things outside of race, but that does not lessen the facts of violence against our fellow Americans based solely on the color of their skin. If you believe all deserve true equality, is it so much to ask that we demand it for black men, women and children?
I’m sorry. Darbie10. I think you’re misunderstanding my comment. I said several times the racism within our country needs to be addressed and in a meaningful ways on an ongoing basis. Period. This issue goes back to the first person of color brought to this continent as chattel. And before that, the systematic eradication of people of color on the continent. This is not a new issue and I pray will be addressed in a constructive way.
I also said the more people that speak out, the better.
What I questioned was correcting your image so you appear perfect before speaking out isn’t the best look. I think that says something about our society which unfortunately sometimes values looks over words. It doesn’t appear Ms. Williams did so. However Beyonce looks younger than my 20 year old daughter.
#3 Beyonce is an artist, let her craft her message her way.
Kim,
Except your #1 point is a much wordier version of “all lives matter” and that is offensive. Starting your post by acknowledging you would be taken to task and ending by asking if you were a “Karen”, seems like you are aware of this. Have a nice day.
This needs more attention!