The filmmaker applauds the activists and compares the nationwide Black Lives Matter protests to some of historic 1960s movements as he condemns racially-fueled police brutality.
- June 6, 2020
AceShowbiz - Spike Lee has opened up on the ongoing Black Lives Matter protests, comparing the movement to the progressive change happening in the 1960s.
Following the death of African-American man George Floyd at the hands of a white Minneapolis cop, calls for an end to racial injustice have intensified worldwide, and director Spike responded by creating a new short film.
The one-and-a-half-minute short, shared to social media, is titled "3 Brothers - Radio Raheem, Eric Garner, and George Floyd", and connects the death of Floyd, Eric Garner, and Radio Raheem - the character in his 1989 film "Do the Right Thing".
Speaking to U.S. TV show "Extra" about the number of Black people dying due to racially targeted attacks, he admitted, "I can't keep up. I swear on my mother's grave. I'm like... What? What? What? It doesn't stop!"
He went on to emphasise that African-Americans have faced tough times for centuries, saying, "When was it easy? Since 1619, since 1619, (when) our ancestors were stolen from Africa and landed in Jamestown, we've been catching hell. So it ain't ever been easy… It's been easier. But it's not easy. We can make that distinction."
However, the star is encouraged by the current protests, as he added, "I feel good. You know why I feel good? Because I'm looking at the faces and I see our white brothers and sisters joined with their black and brown sisters, arm in arm, step by step, in there…"
"I haven't seen this since I was 10 or 11, during the '60s… the Vietnam War, black power movement, women's movement… This is the next version of that."
