During the opening of the Oscars on Sunday, Regina King made mention of the recent Derek Chauvin verdict.
“It has been quite a year, and we are still smack-dab in the middle of it,” King began. “And I have to be honest: If things had come differently this past week in Minneapolis, I may have traded in my heels for marching boots.”
Chauvin was found guilty on all counts Tuesday for causing George Floyd’s death. The disgraced former Minneapolis police officer could be sent to prison for the rest of his life.
She also addressed those who say Hollywood should just stick to entertainment.
“Now I know a lot of your people at home want to reach for your remote when you feel like Hollywood is preaching to you. But as the mother of a Black son, I know the fear that so many live with. And no amount of fame or fortune changes that, OK? But, tonight, we are here to celebrate.”
Travon Free also shared a powerful message when he and Martin Desmond Roe won best live-action short film for Two Distant Strangers.
“Today, the police will kill three people. And tomorrow, the police will kill three people. And the day after that, the police will kill three people,” Free began. “Because the police in America, on average, kill three people a day. That accounts for about 1,000 people a year. And those people are disproportionately Black people.”
He continued, “And [novelist] James Baldwin once said, ‘The most despicable thing a person can be is indifferent to other people’s pain.’ So I ask that you, please, don’t be indifferent to our pain.”
Tyler Perry also shared a powerful message about people not hating one another when he accepted the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award honor.
“I hope that we would refuse hate,” he said before dedicating the award “to those who want to stand in the middle, no matter what is around the walls; that’s where healing happens. That’s where conversation happens. That’s where change happens.”
About Post Author
