Actor and activist Keke Palmer, who we saw in a video from recent protests that went viral, has an amazing guest column in Variety today: ‘I Have Waited for a Revolution My Entire Life.’
In the video, we see Keke confronting heavily armed members of the National Guard, and peacefully imploring them to “March with us.”
Watch all of this. pic.twitter.com/YHq0QhXrnw
— Gadi Schwartz (@GadiNBC) June 2, 2020
“They didn’t march with us, and while one offered to for a short stretch, he also said he had to “protect the businesses” and buildings in the area,” Keke writes:
White supremacy is the longest-lasting oppression in America, but it is not the only one. We may not all share in the Black experience of this, but I can guarantee you, almost everyone in this country has been oppressed in some form or another. It’s the reality of what happens when the illness of racism becomes validated through the system. It creates even more division, desensitizes us to the humanity of others to the point that so many can be easily blind to sweeping social injustices.
I don’t know everything, but I know how to speak from my heart — at least I try to every day. I know there are others who are just like me. They don’t have the answers, but they are present and they know they can’t do it alone. They ignite the little fires everywhere that shine a light that casts out the darkness. This revelation is a fight for us all.
I have waited for a revolution, I believe, my entire life. I feel it’s like this for many millennials; messages about following rules and staying in line have since evolved into calls to stand up and get others to stand with you, to challenge authority and recognize different life experiences while gathering with others who are like-minded.
Read the full piece here, and follow Keke Palmer on Twitter.
[PHOTO: A still from this video from @GadiNBC.
