John Boyega, the 28-year-old Star Wars actor, delivered an impassioned speech as he joins the Black Lives Matter protest in London.
He spoke out against the killing of George Floyd at the hands of a white police officer in Minneapolis on May 25, and said he ‘doesn’t know’ if he’ll still have a career after making his views known and ‘speaking from the heart’.
Other celebrities also joined the protest and they include singer Dua Lipa and her model boyfriend Anwar Hadid, as well as musician Liam Payne and actress Billie Piper.
In his speech, Boyega said:
We are a physical representation of our support for George Floyd. We are a physical representation of our support for Sandra Bland. We are a physical representation of our support for Trayvon Martin. We are a physical representation of our support for Stephen Lawrence. I’m speaking to you from my heart. Look, I don’t know if I’m going to have a career after this. Today is about innocent people who were halfway through their process, we don’t know what George Floyd could have achieved, we don’t know what Sandra Bland could have achieved, but today we’re going to make sure that won’t be an alien thought to our young ones. I need you to understand how painful this s**t is. I need you to understand how painful it is to be reminded every day that your race means nothing and that isn’t the case anymore, that was never the case anymore. It is very, very important that we keep control of this moment. That we make this as peaceful and as organised as possible. This message is specifically for black men, black men we need to take care of our black women. They’re ours. They are our future. We cannot demonise our own. We are the pillars of the family…Today’s the day that we remind them that we are dedicated and this is a lifelong dedication.
George Floyd, 46, an African-American man, died on May 25 after a white police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
His death has sparked days of demonstrations across the nation over police brutality against African-Americans.
The Minneapolis policeman accused of killing Floyd, Derek Chauvin, was taken into custody Friday and charged with third-degree murder.
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