Black Lives Matter Gets Beyoncé's Support In 'Dear Class Of 2020' Speech
As Black Lives Matter protests continue to happen all over the United States and around the world after being sparked by the killing of George Floyd, more and more celebrities have started to speak out in support of the movement. The latest to do is the superstar singer, Beyoncé, perhaps the biggest entertainment name to do so.
Variety reports that Beyoncé made the statement during the Dear Class of 2020 virtual graduation ceremony organized by YouTube. After congratulating the graduates of 2020, she pointed out the challenging conditions that they would find themselves in once they go out into the real world, saying that today’s graduates would have to contend with the global coronavirus pandemic as well as the ongoing racial tensions caused by George Floyd’s killing.
Beyoncé expressed her appreciation for the gathered voices of the young protesters who have spoken out against the killings not just of George Floyd, but also that of Breona Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and countless others. She said that it was these graduates who would start real change.
Aside from speaking on the Black Lives Matters protests, Beyoncé also shared experiences of sexism that she endured during her career.
As noted by Deadline, she started her own company in an industry dominated by men and struggled to find female role models to draw inspiration from. She noted that there were even fewer Black women in the industry, so she had to work hard to draw them and other outsiders to work with her. Beyoncé said that while building her company, she began to see that music executives often overlooked the creatives and business people she drew to her because they were either women or a different race.
Beyoncé is the latest Black celebrity to vocalize support for the Black Lives Matter movement. One of the more recent ones to do was Star Wars actor John Boyega, who called on fellow protesters to keep the movement going as well as to maintain its peaceful nature. Boyega was also supported by other celebrities when he expressed apprehension that him speaking out would result in a blow to his career.
Iconic filmmaker Spike Lee has also voiced support of the protests while noting at the same time that he has never seen such a diversity of protesters since the 1960s during the height of the civil rights movement.
Other celebrities that have seen in the protests sparked by George Floyd’s killing include Halsey, Ariana Grande, Cole Sprouse, Emily Ratajkowski, Kehlani, Miguel, Machine Gun Kelly, Paris Jackson, Tessa Thompson, Tinashe, and Timothee Chalamet.