Actor and comedian Jamie Foxx was in Minneapolis on Friday to lend his support to the demonstrators protesting the police-involved death o...
Actor and comedian Jamie Foxx was in Minneapolis on Friday to lend his support to the demonstrators protesting the police-involved death of George Floyd.
‘All I wanted to do is let you know we not afraid to stand,’ Foxx said on Friday in Minneapolis.
‘We are not afraid of the moment.’
The actor also had a message for sympathetic white Americans.
‘To all of our friends who aren’t black, just try to put yourself in our position,’ Foxx said.
Foxx was seen alongside retired NBA player Stephen Jackson, who has revealed he and Floyd were friends back from their days living in Texas.
Jackson spent part of his career with the hometown Minnesota Timberwolves and has been an outspoken community advocate.
Actor Jamie Foxx was in Minneapolis on Friday to lend his support to demonstrators protesting the police-involved death of George Floyd, 46, on Monday
Foxx spoke as demonstrators took to the streets nationwide demanding justice for Floyd (above), who died in police custody in Minneapolis on Monday
Stephen Jackson (center), a former NBA player with the Minnesota Timberwolves, speaks to the press on Friday in Minneapolis
'I’m here because they’re not gonna demean the character of George Floyd, my twin,' Jackson said on Friday.
'A lot of times when police do things that they know that's wrong, the first thing they do is try to cover it up and bring up your background to make it seem like the bull**** that they did was worthy.'
Foxx, the star of such hit films as Ray, Django Unchained, and Any Given Sunday, told protesters that he has witnessed similar unrest before.
‘I’ve experienced this before, able to watch the Rodney King [riots] when I was in [Los Angeles],’ he said.
Floyd, 46, died on Monday in police custody. He was arrested by Minneapolis cops who were called to the scene because of a suspected forgery at a deli.
Video of Floyd's arrest, shows police officer Derek Chauvin pinning him down to the pavement, with the officer's knee pressed against his neck for eight minutes.Floyd is heard saying he couldn't breathe as Chauvin and other officers ignore him.
On Friday, Minnesota authorities announced criminal charges against Chauvin, including third-degree homicide and manslaughter.
Foxx also mentioned his friendship with Sybrina Fulton, the mother of Trayvon Martin.
Demonstrators face off with police in riot gear near the Capitol building in Denver on Thursday
In 2012, Martin, a 17-year-old African American boy from Miami Gardens, was fatally shot by a Florida man, George Zimmerman, while visiting his father’s fiancee at her townhouse in Sanford.
Zimmerman, an armed member of the community watch, told police that Martin looked suspicious because he was wearing a hooded sweater with the hood draped over his head.
During an encounter, Zimmerman fatally shot Martin. He was charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter, but was acquitted by a jury after he claimed self-defense.
Foxx said that he spoke to Sybrina Fulton, Martin’s mother, who is now running for a local government seat in Miami-Dade County.
‘If you guys get a chance, please find a circle of mothers, where there are a hundred, 200 cases like this that don’t get the visibility and don’t get the cameras, and they’re strong women,’ Foxx said.
Fulton is a candidate for a seat on the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners. She is seeking to represent District 1.
Her primary election is scheduled for August 25. If she wins, she would move on to the general election on November 3rd.
Foxx praised Fulton for her efforts ‘to try to do something different.’
‘This is the toughest time when things like this happen,’ Foxx said.
Foxx also noted that he and Floyd both had roots in Texas. Floyd was a football player for Yates High School.
‘We used to hear about how great their football team was,’ Foxx, who is a native of the Dallas suburb of Terrell, Texas, said on Friday.
No comments