Behind a prominent brand is an influential media figure. Oprah, Lindsay Peoples Wagner, Ellen Degeners and Anna Wintour are among some of these individuals. They are echoing justice and are showing the world where their brand stands.
- Oprah Winfrey: Host of The Oprah Winfrey Show
“I’ve been trying to process what can be said or heard in this moment. I haven’t been able to get the image of the knee on his neck out of my head. It’s there every morning when I rise and when I go through the ordinary duties of the day. While pouring coffee, lacing my shoes, and taking a breath, I think: He doesn’t get to do this.
And now the video from the other angle of two other officers pinning him down. My heart sinks even deeper.
His family and friends say he was a gentle giant. His death has now shown us he had a giant soul. If the largeness of a soul is determined by its sphere of influence, George Floyd is a Mighty soul.
#GeorgeFloyd: We speak your name. But this time we will not let your name be just a hashtag. Your spirit is lifted by the cries of all of us who call for justice in your name!”
Photo & caption: Oprah Winfrey Instagram Post
- Lindsay Peoples Wagner: Editor-in-Chief of Teen Vogue (Photograph of Lindsay Peoples Wagner is the featured image for this article. The featured photograph is of Lindsay for the new issue of Kinfolk Magazine; additional image credits included below)
“What trips me out is the amount of black people who continue to call me too outspoken but have the same conversations I’m having in group chats privately but don’t want to talk about them publicly.
It saddens me that we care so much about white people’s opinions and validation of us as black people in fashion that we are willing to stay silent on certain topics for seats to a show or a free handbag.
I’m not talking about cancelling people or even calling them out necessarily —— I’m talking about holding brands, magazines, talent, etc. ACCOUNTABLE.
You can post all the black lives matter quotes you want, but if you aren’t using your seat at the table, your social channels, your connections to actually speak up and make change kindly miss me with with bull****.”
Photo & caption: Lindsay Peoples Wagner Instagram Post; Photograph of Lindsay Peoples Wagner is the featured image for this article. The featured photograph is of Lindsay for the new issue of Kinfolk Magazine; additional image credits include: @khellonmars @fatimotisadare @zoltantombor @jermaine_daley @hairenomicsonhair
- Tamron Hall: Producer and host of Tamron Hall Show
“8 bullets…#justiceforbreonnataylor. Today would have been Breonna Taylor’s 27th birthday. I woke up thinking about her warm smile in this picture. My thoughts turned to how her face must have shown fear and pain in her last moments as eight bullets entered her body after undercover police officers entered her home. While not ”captured on video,” you can imagine the horror. She was not a suspect and had done nothing wrong. Her family loved Breonna; she was a first responder, a job she loved because “she cared about people.” And now we must CARE about Breonna’s story and justice for #breonnataylor#sayhername”
Photo & caption: Tamron Hall Instagram Post
- Ellen Degeneres: Host of The Ellen DeGeneres Show
“I have always stood for equality. I have always wanted to be the voice for people who felt like they didn’t have a voice because I know what that feels like. Maybe you don’t agree with how it’s coming out, but you have to understand it. And then we can heal it… This has gone one way way way way to long. People have gotten away with murder and that’s what’s happening. So we’ve got to see fairness and justice for all, because right now this is not a fair world —— not at all … We have a long way to go to even get close to being fair. And if you don’t understand this then you’ve never felt like you weren’t heard or you weren’t equal. But if you’ve ever felt that, magnify it and see what’s happening. And let’s send a whole bunch of love out there and try to find some peace and some communication in this.”
Photo and caption: Ellen Degeneres Instagram Post
- Michelle Lee: Editor-in-Chief of Allure
“When I saw that one of the cops who stood by while George Floyd was murdered was Asian, I had a visceral reaction. It’s an all-too familiar sight that someone from our community is complicit OR actively participating in racism. Last year, a picture of the Proud Boys circulated and who’s standing with the racist, extremist right-wingers? An Asian guy, desperately clutching at the hope that his “model minority” status makes him one of them. We need to fix this in our own community NOW.
Michelle Kim from Awaken states it well: “In our quest to survive, some of us may have been striving to become White-adjacent— as successful as White people, as fitting in and assimilated as White people, as deserving as White people of dignity and respect — and along the journey, consciously or subconsciously, have adopted the language and beliefs of White Supremacy and anti-Blackness.” Asian Americans: Call out, confront, and correct racism. Yes, even when it’s a remark made by one of your older relatives who you think is “just of a different generation.”
I deleted a post yesterday about making sure we pass the mic. I’ve been doing a lot of listening, and while it’s vital that we elevate and amplify Black voices, I didn’t want it to be misconstrued that we should stay silent and let others bear the burden. More than ever, be LOUD. Art by @daniellezhengg for @miscalculasian.
If you have the means and are looking at ways to help, please consider contributing to these causes: @mnfreedomfund, @nationalbailout, @colorofchange, @reclaimtheblock, @blackvisionscollective, @brooklynbailfund, @freethemall2020, @bailproject, @aclumn. #BlackLivesMatter”
Photo & caption: Michelle Lee Instagram Post
- Kevin Frazier: Host of Entertainment Tonight and creator of Hip Hollywod and Travel Coterie
“I have been to Minneapolis many times but it has never been like this. What I saw yesterday gave me #HOPE for what’s next. The names painted in the street are a chilling reminder of the price that was paid to get here. And there are so many others. Do not forget why you marched and protested, learn the stories and the history and then go change the future. #GeorgeFloyd#BreonnaTaylor #AhmaudArbery”
Photo and caption: Kevin Frazier Instagram Post
- Tia Mowry: Company owner of Shopanser, author of cookbook “Whole New You,” Youtube host of Tia Mowry’s Quick Fix and actress in “Family Reunion”
“#tbt This is a photo of my beautiful mother. Growing up #biracial, mom is black and dad is white, it was very clear to me seeing the #privilegethat my dad had as opposed to my #mother. Some examples, during our #sistersister days when traveling for work we would often fly first class. There were several times my mother was asked if she was in the right seat. Another incident that stood out for me was when we were buying our first home as a family. My mother walked in the house model with us asking for a brochure. A person had said the houses were sold out. My dad walked in and it was a different story. My #goalis to see #change. This year has been a tough year. Several tears have been shed. However, a friend told me these tears will not be wasted. The #love and #support around the world has kept me going. A #change is gonna come. ??”
Photo and caption: Tia Mowry Instagram Post
- Sharon Osbourne: Television personality, author and businesswoman
“I have privilege as a white person because I can do all of these things without thinking twice:
I can go birding (#ChristianCooper)
I can go jogging (#AmaudArbery)
I can relax in the comfort of my own home (#BothemSean and #AtatianaJefferson)
I can ask for help after being in a car crash (#JonathanFerrell and #RenishaMcBride)
I can have a cellphone (StephonClark)
I can leave a party to get to safety (JordanEdwards)
I can play loud music (JordanDavis)
I can sell CDs (AltonSterling)
I can sleep (AiyanaJones)
I can walk from the corner store (MikeBrown)
I can play cops and robbers (TamirRice)
I can go to church (Charleston9)
I can walk home with Skittles (TrayvonMartin)
I can hold a hair brush while leaving my own bachelor party (SeanBell)
I can party on New Years (OscarGrant)
I can get a normal traffic ticket (SandraBland)
I can lawfully carry a weapon (PhilandoCastile)
I can break down on a public road with car problems (CoreyJones)
I can shop at Walmart (JohnCrawford)
I can have a disabled vehicle (TerrenceCrutcher)
I can read a book in my own car (KeithScott)
I can be a 10yr old walking with our grandfather (#CliffordGlover)
I can decorate for a party (#ClaudeReese)
I can ask a cop a question (#RandyEvans)
I can cash a check in peace (#YvonneSmallwood)
I can take out my wallet (#AmadouDiallo)
I can run (#WalterScott)
I can breathe (#EricGarner)
I can live (#FreddieGray)
I CAN BE ARRESTED WITHOUT THE FEAR OF BEING MURDERED (#GeorgeFloyd)
White privilege is real. Take a minute to consider a Black person’s experience today.
#saytheirnames please copy and paste RG @juliannemoore”
Photo and caption: Sharon Osbourne Instagram Post
- Anna Wintour: Editor-in-Chief of Vogue
“These are days of wildly mixed emotions. I am always one for optimism and I had been cheering at signs of recovery and cautious re-emergence, the communities and businesses carefully opening up, the Americans following guidelines, wearing masks in public, and social distancing safely, the pandemic slowing its spread in most places.
But there has been little to cheer about recently. The signs of division, anger, and chaos in our country are overwhelming and heartbreaking. And we have a disgraceful president who seems capable only of vile statements of hate, of stoking our divisions, and turning Americans against one another.
We must do more than vote him out of office. We should understand that the violence against black people in this country—including the appalling murders of Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia, Breonna Taylor in Kentucky, and George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota—is a shared national tragedy, one we all need to reckon with. The need for change should fall especially on those of us who enjoy incredible privileges; we need to listen and learn and take action to ensure social justice and basic human rights for people of color in this country.
The challenges ahead of us are steep. We have historic unemployment, endless lines at food banks, and an epidemic that has disproportionately and cruelly affected minority communities. And we have seen protests turn violent in Minneapolis, Atlanta, New York, Los Angeles and more cities around the country in response to the murder of George Floyd. I respect and honor the anger and rage behind these protests, and I stand with those calling out that Black Lives Matter—even as I do not advocate violence and feel true pain at the damage to our cities and communities. It’s been a heartbreaking weekend, with scenes of chaos and brutality that have been painful to witness.
Vice President Biden must surround himself with the best and the brightest minds who represent all of America—and that means he should choose a woman of color to be his vice president, and he should do it soon. What an important symbol she will be for a country that is long and tragically overdue for new leadership.
So many of us are saying it, or feeling it: enough
This is the election of our lifetimes. Register to vote if you haven’t already. Make your voices heard.”
Photo & caption: Anna Wintour Instagram Post
- Wendy Williams: Television host, businesswoman, media personality and author
“Many streaming services like #Netflix, #Hulu, and #AmazonPrime have movies and series available for us to further learn about #black history in The United States. Head over to our IG story for 8 anti-racism movies and series you can stream!”
Photo and caption: Wendy Williams Instagram Post
