Entertainers, Artists, and Athletes Speak Out on the Grand Jury Letting Killer Cop Walk Free
Updated December 2, 2014 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us
Immediately after the announcement of the Ferguson grand jury's decision, many well-known entertainers, artists, and athletes reacted with disappointment and anger through tweets and Instagram. The following are some of those that went out immediately, in the wake of the announcement, as thousands were taking to the streets in protest around the country:
*****
Russell Brand youtube:
Ferguson: What Value Do Our Laws Have? Russell Brand The Trews (E197)
~~~~~~~~~~
Killer Mike's pre-show Ferguson Grand Jury speech:
[Delivered before his show, about an hour and a half after the grand jury decision was announced, he ends with: “It is us against the motherfucking machine”]
~~~~~~~~~~
ON BLACKOUT FRIDAY:
Fruitvale Station director Ryan Coogler and Blackout for Human Rights, a network of artists and activists, organized a boycott of Black Friday shopping, using the Twitter hashtag: #BlackoutBlackFriday, calling for to make Nov. 28 “a nationwide day of action and retail boycott” and “for people to come out and show their solidarity in the fight for equal human rights.”
Celebrities, including actors Jesse Williams, Michael B. Jordan, Kat Graham, Isaiah Washington; Russell Simmons, singer Tyrese Gibson, Selma director Ava DuVernay and Laz Alonso urged people to participate in the movement.
~~~~~~~~~~
Jesse Williams tweeted: No Justice, No Profit: Corporate/public power only speaks $. So let's talk to 'em. #BlackOutBlackFriday
and posted a video:
#BlackoutBlackFriday: The Most Wonderful Time of The Year
[showing instance after instance of police brutality with Christmas music playing in the background]
~~~~~~~~~~
John Burris, the lawyer for Oscar Grant family who filed a civil law suit posted a youtube video in support of BlackoutBlackFriday:
#BlackoutBlackFriday: The Time Has Come
~~~~~~~~~~
Another youtube video in support of the Black Friday boycott:
#Blackout: Emerald Garner Can't Buy Her Dad a Christmas Present
(features interviews with people about how Christmas time is special with Snoopy Christmas music in the background, then the video of Earl Garner with police right before he was killed and an interview with his daughter about how she can’t spend this Christmas with her father)
~~~~~~~~~~
Writer and journalist, Ta-Nehisi Coates has appeared on TV and wrote an essay in The Atlantic about Obama's response to the Ferguson grand jury results titled, “Barack Obama, Ferguson, and the Evidence of Things Unsaid—Violence works. Nonviolence does too.”
He says:
What clearly cannot be said is that violence—like nonviolence—sometimes works....
"Property damage and looting" is a fairly accurate description of the emancipation of black people in 1865, who only five years earlier constituted some $4 billion in property. The Civil Rights Bill of 1964 is inseparable from the threat of riots. The housing bill of 1968—the most proactive civil-rights legislation on the books— is a direct response to the riots that swept American cities after King was killed. Violence, lingering on the outside, often backed nonviolence during the civil-rights movement. "We could go into meetings and say, 'Well, either deal with us or you will have Malcolm X coming into here,'" said SNCC organizer Gloria Richardson.”
~~~~~~~~~~
Kareem Abdul-Jabar, six time NBA champion, author, and filmmaker, wrote an article for Time magazine (Time.com) titled, “White People Feel Targeted by the Ferguson Protests—Welcome to Our World.”
In it he says:
In 1971, a riot broke out at the Attica Correctional Facility in New York during which prisoners demanded more political rights and better living conditions. About 1,000 inmates out of 2,200 took control of the prison, holding 42 staff members hostage. Negotiations went on for days before state police stormed the prison, resulting in 43 deaths... The word “Attica” is no longer about what happened in that prison 43 years ago, but is now simply a synonym for political oppression.I hope the chanting of “Ferguson! Ferguson!” and the symbolic upraised arms of surrender will become a new cry of outrage over social injustice that will embed itself in our popular culture as deeply as Attica did....
~~~~~~~~~~
On The View:
Rosie O'Donnell called the grand jury's decision "horrifying" and "overwhelming." She went on to say that she thought they waited to announce the decision until 9 o'clock at night because:
“I think that was like a calculated decision in order to incite people.... that it "takes everyone off of what actually happened to an 18-year-old boy in the street and puts it onto, 'look at those horrible people rioting.' And I think the anger of the people rioting, that's righteous indignation and rage. And I understand it. And although it's not necessarily productive for the cause, it is very understandable as a human being why one might react in the way so many did." [many in the audience applauded at this]
~~~~~~~~~~
Musician Moby tweeted: "darren wilson chased michael brown and murdered him. how did the grand jury get around this basic fact? #Ferguson #FergusonDecision"
Comedian DL Hughley tweeted: "The people who say there is no excuse for violence seem to forget that it was violence that started all of this! #TeamDl"
Actor Gabrielle Union tweeted: "Heavy heart, angry soul... we matter. ALL our lives matter. Hear us, feel us, respect us... ALL"
Comedian and actor Kevin Hart tweeted: "His name is #MikeBrown and we should NEVER forget what happened to him 108 days ago in #Ferguson"
YouTube personality and LGBT advocate Tyler Oakley tweeted: "A murder isn't even going to trial. We have so much to fix in this country. BLACK LIVES MATTER. #FergusonDecision"
Musician and actor Kid Cudi tweeted: "Same ol' bullshit in the U.S.A."
Comedian/actor Chris Rock tweeted out this quote from W.E.B. Du Bois: "A system cannot fail those it was never meant to protect." And also: “Doesn’t take 100 days to decide if murder is a crime, it takes 100 days to figure out how to tell people it isn’t.” #FergusonDecision
Actor Michael Ealy tweeted: "'The grand jury gave up their lives.' Mike Brown's life was taken from 153 ft. I guess after 6 bullets he was still a threat. 6 more."
Rap artist Macklemore tweeted: “The system that instills & protects white supremacy wins again. Humanity loses...No justice. I pray for Mike Brown & his family. So sad." Macklemore also marched in the streets in Seattle with protesters.
Actor Jeffrey Wright tweeted: "'No probable cause...' but enough probable cause exists to change police tactics. Protect & serve—stop hunting. #Peace #FergusonDecision”
will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas tweeted: "#FergusonDecision...I just found about the verdict...I feel sick to my stomach...I'm angry & confused...I feel betrayed....America is lost"
Actor and musician Taraji P. Henson tweeted: "The scary part is he believes what he is saying WOW When he rattled off how many times an UNARMED child was shot DID HE LISTEN 2 HIS WORDS?"
Rihanna posted this picture on Instagram:
Spike Lee sent out a graphic of Mike Brown in a graduation cap and gown with the words, “TRUTH, JUST-US & THE AMERICAN WAY. WE ARE MIKE BROWN.”
Rapper QTip joined protests in New York City and wrote on Twitter: “No value for black life. But they extrapolate our magic, sweat, our voice, our fire... and leave us stripped of our right to exist.”
Guitarist Tom Morello, who previously released his song "Marching on Ferguson" in support of the protestors there, tweeted: "Baseball, apple pie, decisions like this. #Merica" following the grand jury ruling. "Hey #Ferguson: take it easy. BUT TAKE IT. #MichaelBrown #FergusonDecision #fuckthosefuckinfuckers," he added.
Nasir Jones (Nas) tweeted: "You were put here to protect us, but who protects us from you?" - KRS One
Rapper T.I. posted a photo of Tupac, accompanied by one of the late rapper’s lyrics. T.I captioned his photo saying: “Sh** makes me ashamed to be American Bruh!!! A Black man’s life ain’t worth sh** in dis country I guess??? Godbless #MikeBrown #TrayvonMartin #SeanBell, Every other black man that has fallen to these crooked cops, All dey families, And da Revolutionaries Who Gon Ride Tonight!!!! #NoJustice #NoPeace.”
Grammy Award singer Alicia Keys simply posted the white letters out of black: “MIKE BROWN”
Rapper Big Boi tweeted: Fuck This Bullshit !!! #JusticeForMikeBrown
Actor Jesse Williams posted a photo of prosecutor Mcullough with the words over it: “We investigated ourselves and found we did nothing wrong”
Hip hop group, Migos tweeted: Fuck 12 #FergusonDecision
Musician and artist, Derrick N Ashong tweeted: No justice. No surprise. #Ferguson
Athletes
Reggie Bush, Detroit Lions running back, posted several tweets: “So this is what justice looks like huh! SMH (shake my head)” and "I guess we shouldn’t be surprised anymore when stuff like this happens! #JusticeForMikeBrown"—Bush posted a picture of a man holding a sign reading, “The Palestinian people know what mean to be shot while unarmed because of your ethnicity #Ferguson #justice” and wrote: "No matter who you are, what color skin you have, where you live, we are all in this together! This isn't a Ferguson problem it's a Global Problem! We need change NOW! What happened to humanity? #JusticeForMikeBrown" He also posted photos of protests in Oakland, Seattle, New York and Chicago then wrote: We all in this together! Detroit lets go! #AllLivesMatter #JusticeForMikeBrown.
Serena Williams, the world’s top woman tennis player, tweeted: “Wow. Just wow. Shameful. What will it take???”
LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers posted this drawing to his Instagram account:
LA Clippers small forward Matt Barnes, posted a photo to his account of a captured TV screen that read: “Darren Wilson…No Indictment.” Barnes wrote: “So it’s okay to kill people? As long as the person being killed is of color & the person behind the trigger has a badge!!! Sad day not only for mike browns friends & family but a BAD day for our nation! Not saying all cops are bad, BUT there are a lot of them out there that abuse their authority…. #RIPMikeBrown #WillThereEverBePeace #StopTheViolence”
Oakland Raider defensive end Justin Tuck put out a string of tweets that read: “Just so no one misunderstands where I’m coming from, I’m MAD. Mad bc 1 young man 1 dead. I don’t care that he was blk white purple. I know cops are under extreme pressure. I have family that are cops, but I’m tired of have of seeing stuff like this. If a blk cop shot a white UNARMED white young man, I would be mad about that as well so understand I’m about making this world a better place. I have sons and I want them to live in a world that they don’t have to worry about this crap. I’m praying for the Brown family and suffering tonight blk white etc.”
Oakland Raider fullback Marcel Reece posted to Instagram a photo of Michael Brown with a drawing of two hands up and wrote “Don’t Shoot” on it.
Wide receiver DeSean Jackson of the NFL Washington football team posted a photo captured from CNN that had on it “No Indictment; Brown Family Profoundly Disappointed." Jackson wrote: “It’s Sad we have to Raise our kids in this Environment !! Wrong is wrong !! Can’t never make that a right !! Justice once again not served !! #RIPMikebrown PRAYERS FOR BROWN’s Family !!”
LA Lakers point guard Steve Nash tweeted: “Disgusted by decision in Ferguson. Racism is learned. Accepted is systematic suffocation of education and opportunity. What are we saying?”
Kobe Bryant of the LA Lakers tweeted: “The system enables young black men to be killed behind the mask of the law #Ferguson #tippingpoint #change”
Former NBA all-star Ervin “Magic” Johnson tweeted: “I am very disappointed with decision in Mike Brown case in Ferguson, MO. My thoughts & prayers are with the Brown family and the people in Ferguson. We must work together to stop unnecessary loss of young men of color. Justice was not served in Ferguson.”
Basketball player Chiney Ogwumike tweeted: Praying for Ferguson... "If not us, then who? If not now, then when?"
Football player Takeo Spikes tweeted: All lives matter. Black lives matter. #JusticeForMikeBrown #Ferguson #TimeForChange.
Volunteers Needed... for revcom.us and Revolution
If you like this article, subscribe, donate to and sustain Revolution newspaper.