Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie reached out to John Boyega after the actor broke down in tears as he condemned racism at a Black Lives Matter protest in London, during which he said he doesn’t know if he’s “going to have a career after this”.
Commending him for his courage, Chimamanda offered some words of advice to Boyega in a video she shared to Instagram.
The renowned author tagged Boyega to the video and wrote: “The air is thick with grief. But there’s also reason for cautious hope, maybe this time is different, maybe @johnboyega.”
In the video, Ms. Adichie said: “Watching John Boyega speak at the protest in Hyde Park, it broke my heart, made me cry. I’m sending love to you John. I hope that you’re surrounded by love because I think that what you’re doing is necessary and very important, but also comes at a cost emotionally. So, I’m sending you all my love and admiration and pride.
“And so many young Black people out there who have dealt with so much crap over time and they’re out there and they’re doing their thing and it’s so admirable to see them taking up space.”
On Wednesday, June 3, British actor John Boyega, best known for his performance in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, protested in London in response to the death of African-American George Floyd.
Boyega said in his passionate speech, “Black lives have always mattered. We have always been important. We have always meant something. We have always succeeded regardless. And now is the time. I ain’t waiting.”
Fighting back tears, he continued, “I’m speaking to you from my heart. Look, I don’t know if I’m going to have a career after this, but fuck that. Today is about innocent people who were halfway through their process. We don’t know what George Floyd could have achieved, we don’t know what Sandra Bland could have achieved, but today we’re going to make sure that won’t be an alien thought to our young ones.
“Today is about innocent people who were halfway through their process. We don’t know what George Floyd could have achieved, we don’t know what Sandra Bland could have achieved, but today we’re going to make sure that won’t be an alien thought to our young ones.”
John Boyega’s passionate speech got the support of the Star Wars universe.
Lucasfilm, the Disney-owned studio behind Star Wars, tweeted, “We stand with and support you, @JohnBoyega,” along with a link to Boyega’s full speech.
An accompanying statement from Star Wars read, “LUCASFILM STANDS WITH JOHN BOYEGA AND HIS MESSAGE THAT, “NOW IS THE TIME. BLACK LIVES HAVE ALWAYS MATTERED. BLACK LIVES HAVE ALWAYS BEEN IMPORTANT. BLACK LIVES HAVE ALWAYS MEANT SOMETHING. THE EVIL THAT IS RACISM MUST STOP. WE WILL COMMIT TO BEING PART OF THE CHANGE THAT IS LONG OVERDUE IN THE WORLD. JOHN BOYEGA, YOU ARE OUR HERO.”
