On Sunday at the 2016 BET awards, Jesse Williams took the stage to convey a strong message: Black Lives Matter. Recently, people from all sectors have come out to talk about the struggles a colored person goes through. Well, the struggle is real. Several surveys show that a black person is more prone to death due to violence when compared to a white. Many people over the period of time have talked about this but the trend does not seem to change.
The Grey’s Anatomy actor has been quite vocal about the issue and has been a stout supporter of Black Lives Matter movement. As he accepted BET’s humanitarian award, he took the stage to talk about why the issue is important. He said that the award does not actually belongs to him but to
“Real organizers all over the country, the activists, the civil rights attorneys, the struggling parents, the families, the teachers, the students that are realizing that a system built to divide and impoverish and destroy us cannot stand if we do. All right? It’s kind of basic mathematics.”
While it might look that his speech is one of the many given by great personalities over the period of time but it ain’t so. Within a few seconds, Williams made people see the journey colored people have taken and things that have and haven’t changed.
Williams said that it’s important for people to learn about their history because only through knowledge, will they be able to seek justice for themselves. The actor thanked his parents who according to him made sure that he “learned what the schools were afraid to teach us”.
He made a point to talk about black women who according to him have “spent their lifetimes dedicated to nurturing everyone before themselves”. He added, “We can, and will, do better for you.”
While he recounted the incidences when people of color lost their lives, the actor ended his speech on a strong note:
“The burden of the brutalized is not to comfort the bystander. That’s not our job, all right? Stop with all that. If you have a critique for the resistance — for our resistance — then you’d better have an established record of critique of our oppression. If you have no interest … If you have no interest in equal rights for black people, then do not make suggestions to those who do. Sit down.”
William’s speech moved everyone in the audience and received a standing ovation as he finished his impassioned speech.
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