John Boyega Black Lives Matter protest in London’s Hyde Park
British actor John Boyega joined the Black Lives Matter Protest in London and addressed those who had gathered. Just days ago, John took to his Insta live reacting to the passing of George Floyd, a Minnesota resident who died from Police brutality in the U.S.
In a video of his speech that was filmed and shared by CBS News’ Haley Ott, Boyega can be heard telling the crowd: “Black lives have always mattered. We have always been important. We have always meant something. We have always succeeded regardless. And now is the time. I ain’t waiting.”
Boyega also told protesters that he was “speaking to you from my heart”, adding: “Look, I don’t know if I’m going to have a career after this, but fuck that.”
“No justice, no peace.” #BlackLivesMatter protesters are gathering in Hyde Park. pic.twitter.com/jDXe2uEAAO
— Oli Dugmore (@OliDugmore) June 3, 2020
“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.”
The actor later said: “I need you to understand how painful this shit 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.
“Black lives have always mattered. We have always been important. We have always meant something. We have always succeeded regardless. And now is the time. I ain’t waiting,” @johnboyega just told #BlackLivesMatter protesters in London’s Hyde Park pic.twitter.com/P49cbwIp6P
— Haley Ott (@haleyjoelleott) June 3, 2020
“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, for Mark Duggan.”
Boyega told his fellow protesters to keep their demonstrations “as peaceful as possible,” adding: “They want us to mess up, they want us to be disorganised — but not today.”
https://twitter.com/SBTVonline/status/1268183330949906432