While many artists have shared their outrage over George Floyd’s death on social media by demanding justice against the police officers responsible, urging an end to racism, making donations and more, some are leaving their homes to speak out in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
As protests spread across the country from Seattle to Los Angeles to Minneapolis to New York City to Atlanta and beyond, musicians are joining those who are gathering to call for an end to systemic racism and police brutality. Nick Cannon is one of them.
The actor and musician wore a black hoodie featuring Floyd’s final words, “Please I Can’t Breathe,” written across the front as he marched with Minneapolis protesters on May 29.
In subsequent Instagram posts featuring black-and-white photos of himself with protesters, the entertainer noted, “We All Tired of it…,” “THEY GON HEAR US LOUD AND CLEAR!!!” among other messages.
Machine Gun Kelly was another who participated in protests. The rapper posted video to his Instagram stories showing himself in a black mask at a May 30 rally and holding a sign that read “Silence Is Betrayal.” He added in text over the video, “Everyone stands together.”
He later shared a series of black-and-white photos on Instagram, including of himself on holding up the same sign above his head, and captioned the images “justice soon…”
See which other artists have joined the nationwide protests, and hear their messages:
Lil Yachty
The rapper spoke to fellow protesters about how he’s feeling: “I feel like we gotta stand for something or we’ll fall for anything, you know what I’m saying?”
Halsey
The singer shared her experience protesting in L.A. Saturday (May 30) via her Instagram stories. In a series of black-and-white photos, she said that protesters were peaceful, their arms raised, when police fired rubber bullets into the crowd, hitting her twice.
On Sunday, she posted an update from a Santa Monica protest.
“I dont know how to articulate the horrors of today,” she tweeted. “NG + officers firing rounds into kneeling crowds. We dont have enough medics on the ground on our side. I was treating injuries I am not qualified to. So much blood spilled. If you have med training pls go + standby outskirts.”
She continued: “And if you’re a white ally who is gonna stand and shout and antagonize the officers and NG and then hide behind black bodies when the shots start firing, f— you. You couldnt understand a shred of the bravery of the black folks at the front line. Thank you to everyone who stayed.”
“And a big personal thank you to @yungblud who literally ran exposed in front of rounds being shot to drag wounded people to safety without even thinking twice,” she said.
J. Cole
The Fayetteville native joined his fellow citizens to protest in North Carolina on May 30. The rapper hasn’t posted on social media, but was spotted by attendees as well as local news outlets, who reported his presence. Per WRAL, the musician declined to speak on camera.
Tinashe
The singer-songwroter took to the streets and freeways of L.A. to protest while holding a “Black Lives Matter” sign. In two mini-galleries on Instagram, she shared photos of herself and her fellow protesters marching, and captioned the first “Show up,” while urging followers to not live in fear in the second collection.
She also added on Twitter later that the march she participated in was non-violent:
Chika
The rapper shared video of herself documenting a protest on Sunday, but added in her caption that she was detained for “failure to disperse.” In a second video, she said that the protest was peaceful until law enforcement allegedly “began beating” protesters.
Paris Jackson
Paris shared photos of herself at a protest on Instagram, noting that the one she participated in began peacefully, but that the calm did not last. “it broke my heart to see it all go up in flames” she captioned the mini-gallery. “violence is not the answer.”
Yungblud
Also spotted at L.A.’s protests was the English artist, who told fans he’d be at West Hollywood’s Pan Pacific Park.
Ariana Grande
Grande took to the streets of Los Angeles over the weekend, joining the Black Lives Matter protest in the wake of George Floyd’s death.
Travis Barker
The Blink-182 drummer shared a black-and-white video of himself marching down Hollywood Boulevard with protesters while holding up a sign that read “No Justice No Peace.”
