Alicia Keys & 23 Other Celebs’ Message to Black America

If you know anything about Alicia Keys then you should know that she’s not only passionate about her music but she’s also very passionate if not more about the conditions of the world and black culture. The “This Girl is on Fire” songstress has gathered together a few actors, comedians and music industry’s brightest and golden stars to convey a message of  “What gets you killed, if you’re black in America.”  Some of the stars include: Kevin Hart, Beyonce, Taraji P. Henson, Rihanna, Common, Chris Rock, Queen Latifah, Chance the Rapper and many more. You can even see P!nk and Maroon 5’s front man, Adam Levine in the video– which goes to show that the “Black Lives Matter” movement is not only affecting black communities but other races as well.

According to Identities.Mic Keys stated that Philando Castile was not a martyr. He was an ordinary 32-year-old black man whom fed children for a living and had hoped to make it home after work on Wednesday but he never made it there. Keys stated:

“That’s what I kept thinking last Thursday when I woke up and logged onto Facebook, where a Facebook Live video showing Castile dying in the driver’s seat of a car had started going viral. Castile was with his girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, and her 4-year-old daughter when Minnesota police officers stopped them.

What struck me was that this was just the beginning. Castile’s name would become a hashtag. His image would appear on posters. His story would be picked apart, his family paraded in front of cameras. His loved ones would be forced to make the case in public that Castile should not have been murdered.”

Due to these unforeseen events, Keys began to compile her list of black only involved police altercations that turned deadly. Keys stated that she did it to prove a point:

“There is a tax on black life in America, and we are better than this.”

That’s when Keys decided it was time to take action and get other “powerful voices” to stand along-side her and fight for justice. In the video each star states a sentence of  “normal” actions done by everyday individuals that could ultimately get you killed if you’re black and living in this society. The video is powerful and shows stars at their most vulnerable state; some even looking emotional as they say their sentence. After each statement a photo and name of the individual in whom the sentence is reflecting graces the screen.

At the end of the video Keys stresses the point of contacting President Barack Obama & congress to tell them that the time for change is NOW! And she couldn’t be more on point with that.

 

Suggested Articles:

Beyonce’s Open Letter & the Response to Fatal Police Killings of African Americans

Alicia Keys Releases Short Film ‘Let Me In’ for World Refugee Day

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