Beyoncé Posted a Powerful Message About the "Senseless Killing" of George Floyd
Beyoncé just joined a growing list of celebrities speaking out against the murder of George Floyd at the hands of law enforcement.
Earlier this week, video footage surfaced of a white Minnesota police officer kneeling on the neck of Floyd, a black man, while arresting him. Despite repeatedly crying out that he couldn't breathe, the officer held his position for eight minutes, and as a consequence, the 46-year-old later died at a medical center.
Devastated by the incident, Beyoncé recorded a powerful plea for justice. "We all witnessed his murder in broad daylight," she said in a clip posted to Instagram on Friday (May 29). "We're broken and we're disgusted. We cannot normalize this pain. I'm not only speaking to people of color. If you're white, black, brown, or anything in between, I'm sure you feel hopeless by the racism going on in America right now."
A post shared by Beyonce? (@beyonce) on May 29, 2020 at 8:13pm PDT
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She continued, "No more senseless killings of human beings. No more seeing people of color as less than human. We can no longer look away. George is all of our family in humanity. He's our family because he's a fellow American. There have been too many times that we've seen these violent killings with no consequences." While the officer responsible for Floyd's death, Derek Chauvin, has been arrested and charged with third-degree murder, three other officers at the scene have only been fired.
"Yes, someone has been charged, but justice is far from being achieved," the singer said, before urging fans to sign one of four petitions on her website in honor of Floyd. "Please sign the petition and continue to pray for peace and compassion and healing for our country. Thank you so much."