Michael B. Jordan made his voice heard with apassionate speech Saturday during a Black Lives Matter demonstration in Los Angeles.
MBJ began by recalling some of his most memorable movie roles and how they each taught him something new about race relations.
via Complex:
“I learned his tactics. I learned his mentality,” Jordan said about his Just Mercy role. “I learned his approach to things. Very calm. Very strategic. Very thoughtful. You have to be proximal. You have to be close to [the] issues.”
He continued, “We have to be close to the issues. That is why I love everyone out here because we have to be here together. Shoulder to shoulder.”
Jordan went on to speak about the ways his production team prioritized inclusion, but made it clear that more had to be done. The actor then took Hollywood figures to task, demanding them to up their diversity efforts, “invest in black staff,” and hire private security rather than police.
“We are in the heart of Hollywood right now, one of the world’s most powerful industries and I am an active member of that. And they need to go on notice,” he said. “Anybody that deals with me, if you have racist beliefs, if you have a racist bone in your body, if you’re not with me, if you don’t stand with me and people that look like me, you don’t need to be with me. I use my power to demand diversity but it’s time that studios and agencies … do so.”
“You committed to a 50/50 gender parity in 2020, where is the challenge to commit to black hiring? Black content, led by black executives, black consultants … So let us bring our darkness to the light? We’re done with discrimination,” he added.
Get into his full speech below.
