Issues 31st May 2020 by Hannah Hillyer

Celebrities Condemn The Death Of George Floyd And Ways To Educate Yourself

"The voices of the black community have been silenced for too long."

Since the death of George Floyd, an African-American man, who died in police custody at the hands of a white police officer, our social media feeds have been full of anger. The four police officers involved have been sacked, Derek Chauvin – the officer who kept his knee on Floyd’s neck until he became unresponsive – has been charged with third degree murder and second degree manslaughter.

There is so much rage being expressed at this completely avoidable tragedy. In the wake of Floyd’s death protests sprang up in Minneapolis–Saint Paul and initially were peaceful. However, it has since sparked rioting around the country as people display their anger at another black man who’s life has been lost at the hands of white police officers.

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A post shared by chrissy teigen (@chrissyteigen) on May 30, 2020 at 3:19pm PDT

Many have been arrested, and funds are being raised to bail people out of jail, with numerous celebrities donating. Chrissy Teigan, pledged $100,00 dollars to bail out protestors across America and was ‘corrected’ by someone in her comments that they were in fact ‘rioters and criminals.’

In response? She doubled it to $200,000.

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A post shared by Hailey Baldwin Bieber (@haileybieber) on May 28, 2020 at 3:22pm PDT

Many have also spoken out against police brutality and allied themselves with the Black Lives Matter movement, encouraging others to educate themselves on white privilege and the systematic racism present in the US justice system.

Hailey Bieber posted; “It’s heartbreaking that we’re honoring yet another life that was lost due to the violence and racism our country displays far too often.”

“I am tired, I’m angry, I’m sad, and I will not stay quiet. Changes need to be made, and people need to be behind bars for their actions.. Rest In Peace George Floyd.”

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A post shared by badgalriri (@badgalriri) on May 29, 2020 at 8:10pm PDT

Rihanna also shared an angry yet emotional post on the topic “For the last few days, the magnitude of devastation, anger, sadness I’ve felt has been overwhelming to say the least! Watching my people get murdered and lynched day after day pushed me to a heavy place in my heart!”

“If intentional MURDER is the fit consequence for “drugs” or “resisting arrest”….then what’s the fit consequence for MURDER???!”

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A post shared by BILLIE EILISH (@billieeilish) on May 30, 2020 at 3:31am PDT

Billie Eilish shared that she has an “enormous fucking platform and I try really hard to be respectful and take time to think through what I say and how I say it” however her rage was clearly evident as she condemned those who don’t acknowledge their white privilege.

“If all lives matter then why are black people killed just for being black?”

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A post shared by Lady Gaga (@ladygaga) on May 30, 2020 at 10:13pm PDT

Lady GaGa shared that this is a “critical time for the black community to be supported by all other communities so we can put a stop to something that is intrinsically wrong.”

She acknowledged that she is a “white privileged woman” but that “the voices of the black community have been silenced for too long and that silence has proven deadly time and time again.”

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A post shared by Kim Kardashian West (@kimkardashian) on May 30, 2020 at 10:11am PDT

Kim Kardashian has also spoken out against the murder of George Floyd, sharing all the ways in which you can help. This includes donating money, signing petitions and ways to educate yourself on the subject. For donating and ways to help click here and for further information click here.

In one of the resources Kim shared it has the valuable message; “Educate Yourself This Doesn’t Go Away Once The Topic Isn’t Trending” and we couldn’t agree more. More than ever we are encouraged to educate ourselves on the injustice and systemic racism POC endure, as well as to acknowledge our own white privilege.

There are a number of amazing ways to do so, and one of the best is by reading someones lived experience. Here are a few of the best books to start with.

Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race; €12.15