Stars weigh risks of joining ‘Black Lives’ cause
Black Lives Matter is a personal call
Last Friday, singer Janelle Monáe ended her Today show performance with a short-but-heavy speech about racism, police brutality and justice.
“God bless America. God bless all who’ve lost lives to police brutality,” she said as the camera swept across the screaming crowd. “We want white America to know that we stand tall today. We want black America to know that we stand tall today. We will not be silenced.”
And yet some viewers assumed that was exactly what happened when producers cut away from the singer and a Today anchor announced a commercial break while Monáe was mid-speech.
Monáe’s decision to use that platform to get a message out to millions was not the first time she’s been vocal about Black Lives Matter.
She is one of the celebrities engaged and involved in the movement, which was born, in part, out of the police-shooting death of teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., a year ago. Since then, other black celebrities also have used their access, influence, wealth and privilege to further the cause in various ways.
Monáe, who has participated in Black Lives Matter marches, has billed her latest single, Hell
You Talmbout, as a protest anthem. Last month, Grey’s Anato
my actor Jesse Williams dropped a 24-part viral Twitter rant about police brutality, racial bias and white privilege. In May, Prince hosted a free “Pray 4 Peace” concert in Baltimore following the unrest prompted by the death of Freddie Gray. This spring, media outlets picked up on journalist dream hampton’s tweets crediting Beyoncé and Jay Z with bailing out jailed protesters in Baltimore and Ferguson. And, last December, LeBron James and Kobe Bryan warmed up in “I Can’t Breathe” T-shirts, while John Legend funded a fleet of food trucks to feed protesters in New York in the wake of the Eric Garner grand jury decision.
But, is speaking out on a morning show or tweeting an opinion or wearing a T-shirt enough to truly be an agent of change?
Yes, says activist DeRay Mckesson, a member of the planning team behind WeTheProtesters.org and a leader in the Black Lives Matter movement.
“Most people understand the movement to be the work in the streets, and that is fundamental to this work. That was my call to action and I remain committed to in-person protest and I think that will remain a part of the movement for a long time,” Mckesson says. But “there are also many ways to protest.”
Mckesson explains that when it comes to celebrities and highprofile influencers, they can help benefit social justice of all kinds by acting in three ways: amplifying the message, assisting with resources and creating space.
“Jesse Williams epitomizes the amplified message. Because of his influence, he’s able to take the message of the movement — equity and police violence — to spaces that might not otherwise get it. With the resource piece, you get people who work primarily behind the scenes, whether it’s time, money or advice. That is what is said about people like Beyoncé and Jay Z. ... Celebrities who have privilege can get into rooms and can link people who can mentor in ways that are important.”
Celebrities must, however, assess the risks that may come with speaking out, says Saptosa Foster, managing partner of public relations firm 135th Street Agency.
“Usually, the higher profile an individual, the more stakeholders they have as a part of their business; the endorsers, companies that they have, brands they’re associated with launching,” she says. “If that person’s enterprise involves many other people, they have to think about the risk.”
Risks such as losing endorsements, being passed over for mainstream opportunities and even stunting one’s career.
“If you are somebody that thinks, ‘ My career is dedicated to getting an Oscar,’ then you do have to play the game,” Foster says.
Legendary actor Harry Belafonte, a mover and shaker during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, spoke about the impact of such a risk in Henry Louis Gates Jr.’s 1997 book Thirteen Ways of
Looking at a Black Man. Belafonte described rejecting nowiconic movies To Sir, with Love and Lilies of the Field because he felt they demeaned black people. It was his best friend, Sidney Poi- tier, who took on the roles — and made history.
“When I read Lilies of the Field, I was furious,” Belafonte recalled to Gates. “You’ve got these nuns fleeing Communism, and out of nowhere is this black person who throws himself wholeheartedly into their service, saying nothing, and doing nothing except being commanded by these Nazi nuns? He didn’t kiss anybody, he didn’t touch anybody, he had no culture, he had no history, he had no family, he had nothing. I just said, ‘No, I don’t want to play pictures like that.’ What happened was that Sidney stepped in — and got the Academy Award.”
Modern celebrities also must consider the rabid social media backlash that can come from fans who think they’re not doing enough for a cause. Some online critics have targeted Beyoncé and Jay Z, for instance, demanding they do more and give more.
That outrage is counterproductive, Mckesson says. “They are commenting on their relationship with that person’s celebrity, and that makes sense to me,” he says. However, everyday people should be more concerned with the celebrities who work against the movement than those who seem silent, he adds.
“When you see celebrities posting about black-on-black crime, I have more comments about those people than I do about the people who have chosen to work in back channels. There are some influencers who have come out and said some really unproductive things. It demonstrates a wholesale ignorance of the complexities of the violence black people face at the hands of the state.” Former Orange Is the New
Black actress Lorraine Toussaint says that a star’s decision to do good does not always have to be a public act.
“Social justice is a very personal thing — it’s like religion — it’s real
ly personal. ... When it comes to social justice, you can’t make people do it. There’s so many different ways in which to personally and/ or publicly make a stand,” she says. “It’s a personal choice and I can’t fault people who choose not to. ... I’m going to trust that there’s so many people that don’t have some big outward show of standing up for a worthy cause, but do so in the privacy of their families or on a one-on-one basis.”
Toussaint adds that trying to grasp all sides of an issue may make some celebrities reluctant to get involved right away, too.
“Sometimes it’s really hard to take a stand on things, because I am not that clearly informed. It’s never ever black and white. Sometimes, you can feel paralyzed. But you do what you can, and sometimes it helps and sometimes it doesn’t.”
“There’s so many different ways in which to personally and/or publicly make a stand.”
Actress Lorraine Toussaint