“Black lives have always mattered. We have always been important. We have always meant something. We have always succeeded regardless.”
Actor John Boyega spoke at Wednesday’s protest, held in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd, who was unarmed, in Minneapolis on the 25 May. Policeman Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.
Watch John Boyega’s speech (from the Evening Standard YouTube channel):
Boyega, whose filmography includes the recent Star Wars films, Attack The Block and Detroit, said during his speech “Look I don’t know if I’m going to have a career after this but fuck that.” Later the Oscar-winning director, writer and producer Matthew A Cherry put out this call on Twitter, with many director and entertainment creatives responding with how much they’d love to work with the actor:
In February in Georgia, Ahmaud Arbery was shot dead while he was jogging; and in March Breonna Taylor, an emergency room technician, was killed by Louisville police who entered her apartment and shot her several times. Her killers have not been arrested.
How to help
It’s worth checking websites / Twitter feeds etc before donating as some organisations are now well-funded and are suggesting other charities and initiatives that still need funds.
This article from It’s Nice That has links to fundraisers and petitions, as well as articles and books if you need to educate yourself about racism.
This article from The Independent has a range of links from donating to signing petitions in the UK and US.
If you are in the UK, you can write to your MP and ask them to demand that the UK Government freeze sales of riot gear, tear gas and rubber bullets to the US. You can find your MP’s contact details at www.writetothem.com
Leave a Reply