300+ Black Actors & Filmmakers Sign Letter Demanding Hollywood Stop Glorifying Police Violence

More than 300 Black actors, directors, and production staffers have signed an open letter demanding Hollywood divest from film and television which “encourages the epidemic of police violence and culture of anti-Blackness.”

“The glorification of police corruption and violence has had dire consequences on Black lives,” the letter states.

The message, penned by Insecure star Kendrick Sampson and developed by Black Lives Matters co-founders Patrisse Cullors and Melina Abdullah, says the American entertainment industry has profited from the “the exaltation of officers and agents that are brutal and act outside of the law as heroes.”

Those portrayals are linked to police violence against Black people in the real world, including George Floyd, the letter states.

Gatekeeping practices within the industry, meagre marketing campaigns for Black-led productions, and the shunning of Black behind-the-scenes staffers are also condemned by the letter.

“By allowing white people to control and oppress the narratives that affirm Black lives, Hollywood has directly and indirectly inflicted harm and oppression onto our communities,” it states.

“Because Hollywood has been a huge part of the problem, we demand it be a part of the solution.”

The letter has been co-signed by Tessa Thompson, who also helped develop the address, along with fellow Marvel stars Michael B. Jordan, Chadwick Boseman, Danai Gurira, and Anthony Mackie.

Other signatories include Idris Elba, Mahershala Ali, Janelle Monáe, Laverne Cox, Billy Porter, Issa Rae, Kerry Washington, Lena Waithe, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Zoë Kravitz, Thandie Newton, Tiffany Haddish, and Cynthia Erivo.

You can read the letter, first obtained by Variety, right here.

More Stuff From PEDESTRIAN.TV