Last year, Spike Lee won his first competitive Academy Award, for the screenplay for his exceptional and brave BlacKkKlansman.
After jumping into Samuel L Jackson’s arms and telling the the show’s producers to not turn that mother flipping clock on*, Spike delivered a very passionate speech that was just as important last year as it was today, during the #BlackLivesMatter movement.
*I may have slightly altered some words or phrases for my younger audiences.
The Do The Right Thing director touched on black history and this year’s presidential election. And yes, after Spike’s rousing speech, I’m considering forging an American ID just to vote that bloated, fart-infused man-sized Wotsit out.
The word today is “irony.” The date; the 24th. The month; February, which also happens to be the shortest month of the year, which also happens to be Black History month. The year; 2019. The year; 1619. History. Her story. 1619. 2019. 400 years.
Four hundred years. Our ancestors were stolen from Mother Africa and bought to Jamestown, Virginia, enslaved. Our ancestors worked the land from can’t see in the morning to can’t see at night. My grandmother, [inaudible], who lived to be 100 years young, who was a Spelman College graduate even though her mother was a slave. My grandmother who saved 50 years of social security checks to put her first grandchild — she called me Spikie-poo — she put me through Morehouse College and N.Y.U. grad film. N.Y.U.!
Before the world tonight, I give praise to our ancestors who have built this country into what it is today along with the genocide of its native people. We all connect with our ancestors. We will have love and wisdom regained, we will regain our humanity. It will be a powerful moment. The 2020 presidential election is around the corner. Let’s all mobilise. Let’s all be on the right side of history. Make the moral choice between love versus hate.
Let’s do the right thing! You know I had to get that in there.
Spike Lee, 91st Academy Awards
On May 25, George Floyd was murdered by police, after he allegedly paid for cigarettes with a counterfeit $20 note. Footage showed three police officers kneeling on George’s neck, with him even stating that he couldn’t breath; begging them not to kill him.
According to autopsy reports, officer Derek Chauvin had his knee on George’s neck for over eight minutes, and he has since been charged with George Floyd’s murder.
You can help support George’s family by donating to the Official George Floyd Memorial Fund, which is set to cover funeral expenses, as well as grief counselling for his family.