The official Star Wars Twitter account took to the platform today to announce Lucasfilm’s full support of actor John Boyega‘s impassioned speech at Hyde Park. The announcement even went so far as to call Boyega their hero, ensuring him that his career was not in jeopardy for the words he spoke to the crowd gathered alongside him Wednesday morning.
We stand with and support you, @JohnBoyega. View his full speech: https://t.co/Goxb5y2wrK pic.twitter.com/ZvE0t5tRPY
— Star Wars (@starwars) June 3, 2020
Boyega gathered with thousands of others marching through the streets of London to show solidarity for the protests currently happening across the US following the death of George Floyd, who died by asphyxia on March 25th when officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for nearly 9 minutes despite his cries that he couldn’t breathe. In his speech, Boyega reminded the crowd that their presence was a visual representation of the need to fight against injustices like Floyd’s death. He thanked them for showing up and voiced overwhelming support for those marching with him.
Officer Chauvin originally faced charges of third-degree murder, leading to heartbreak for both Floyd’s family and those protesting his death. However, in a bittersweet turn of events, it was announced yesterday that his charges had been increased to second-degree murder. Meanwhile, all three of the other officers present at the site of Floyd’s death have been charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder. It could be months before the world sees how the court case plays out and whether these charges will result in maximum sentencing, but it’s looking more and more likely that they’ll at least be facing prison time for their actions on that fateful day.
Protests and riots continue over a week after Floyd’s death and have now spread to multiple other cities around the world both to show solidarity and to denounce police brutality in their own countries in what’s being called the biggest and most expansive civil rights movement of all time.
