Hollywood may be behind when it comes to joining the youth-led movement to obtain justice for Michael Brown Jr. and all victims of police brutality, but Grey’s Anatomy star Jesse Williams has become a familiar face in the fight.
When we stopped to talk to him during Ferguson October’s weekend of resistance, a global call of action to curb police violence, he didn’t want to celebrate the fact that he was in attendance. For Williams, it wasn’t a big deal that he came to stand in solidarity with those tackling the broken law enforcement system.
“The real question is why couldn’t I get here sooner,” he said.
It’s not surprising. Williams has long expressed his views about police violence and racial bias on his Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram pages.
“Human life matters and we need to hold those who claim to serve and protect us accountable,” he told GlobalGrind. “It’s a two-way street.”
Williams, who was also there to present his video project Question Bridge — a transmedia project that gives black men a platform to represent and redefine black male identity in America — had a message for those who aren’t familiar with Ferguson, police brutality or the death of black people at the hands of paramilitary forces:
“Pay attention, read, listen to perspectives other than your own…and have these conversations. Ain’t nothing cool about being dumb.”
He continued, calling out those who claim to be a part of the movement, but who aren’t advocating for the right cause.
“Be about something. You want to be a thug, you want to be a boss, you want to run shit, come run shit. We right here. So people talking about ‘we out here,’ — you out here?”
Watch the exclusive interview above.
