Star Wars and Disney Support John Boyega’s Black Lives Matter Speech

Star Wars has tweeted their support for John Boyega‘s Black Lives Matter speech and Disney has shown support too. This move comes a day after the Finn actor took part in a peaceful protest at London’s Hyde Park. Social media captured the moment in real-time and people flocked to hear what the star would have to say on the matter. Boyega spent some time last week decrying racism on his social media accounts. Some fans took issue with how he expressed himself at that moment, but the Star Wars actor plainly didn’t care. For him, this is a conversation that needs to be had in and out of fandom circles. George Floyd’s death has sparked protests all across the globe and other countries have sent messages of support to American protestors.

Their graphic on their post read, “LucasFilm stands with John Boyega and his message that, ‘Now is the time. Black lives have always mattered. Black lives have always been important. Black lives have always meant something.’ The evil that is racism must stop. We will commit to being part of the change that is long overdue in the world. John Boyega, you are our hero.”

You can read Boyega’s speech below:

“This is very important; this is very vital. Black lives have always mattered. We have always been important, we have always meant something. We have always succeeded regardless — and now is the time. I ain’t waiting! I ain’t waiting! I’ve been born in this country. I’m 28-years-old, born and raised in London. Every Black person understands and realizes the first time you are reminded that you were Black. You remember. Every black person in here remembers when another person reminded you that you were black.”

“I need you guys to understand how painful this s*** is! I need you to understand how painful it is to be reminded every day that ‘your race means nothing.’ And that isn’t the case anymore,” he added. “It is very, very important that we keep control in this moment and we make this as peaceful as possible … Because you know what, guys? They want us to mess up. They want us to be disorganized — but not today!”

“We need to take care of black women. They are our hearts; they are our future,” Boyega said through tears. “We cannot demonize our own. We are the pillars of the family. Imagine this: a nation that is set up with individual families that are thriving, that are healthy, that communicate, that raise their children they love, have a better rate of becoming better human beings. That’s what we need to create.”

“We can all join together to make this a better world,” he concluded. “We can all join together to make this special.”

Did you see Boyega’s speech on social media? Let us know in the comments!

Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images