Washington D.C.: While marching in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, ‘Black Panther’ actor Michael B Jordan on Saturday called on Hollywood to “invest in black staff”.
At the protest site, Jordan gave a speech against police brutalities and about the discrimination faced by the black community in the entertainment industry, reported Variety.
“I want us to invest in Black staff. I am proud to have an inclusion rider and all that good stuff, and I use my power to demand diversity, but it’s time the studios and agencies and all these buildings we stand in front of to do the same,” Variety quoted the ‘Creed’ actor as saying.
In the speech, he threw light on how the industry committed for the gender parity but neglected the inequalities done on the basis of colour.
“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. Are you policing our storytelling as well? Let us bring our darkness to the light,” Variety quoted Jordan as saying.
“Black culture: the sneakers, sports, comedic culture that you guys love so much. We’ve dealt with discrimination at every turn. Can you help fund Black brands, companies, cultural leaders, Black organisations?” he added.
He also stressed on the need to cast one’s vote in the forthcoming elections.
“We got to vote. Everybody says it is a very easy thing to do, I hear it and I respect it, but voting has never been more important than it is today,” he said.
Many Hollywood celebrities have joined the protests that erupted in the United States in response to the death of African-American man George Floyd.