“We are a physical representation of our support for George Floyd. We are a physical representation of our support for Sandra Bland. We are a physical representation of our support for Trayvon Martin. We are a physical representation of our support for Stephen Lawrence,” Boyega told the assembled crowd, according to U.K. newspaper Metro. “Today is about innocent people who were halfway through their process, we don’t know what George Floyd could have achieved, we don’t know what Sandra Bland could have achieved, but today we’re going to make sure that won’t be an alien thought to our young ones.”
In addition to expressing solidarity with protests in the United States and around the world that are broadly affiliated with the Black Lives Matter movement, Boyega also invoked the 1993 racially motivated murder of Stephen Lawrence in London.
Following the police killing of Floyd on May 25, Boyega began voicing his support for Black Lives Matter and police reforms on social media, calling out racists and arguing back against people online who objected to his solidarity with protestors in another country.
“I have family and friends there who could be any one of the victims if things don’t change,” Boyega tweeted, alluding to the U.S. “I work there six months of the year and I don’t want to work in fear. You don’t know a thing about me. So keep your dutty mouth shut.”
Since his social media arguments prompted headlines around the world, Boyega has continued to use his feeds to share details and advice regarding the ongoing protests, which have spread to every state in the U.S. and countries around the world.
Speaking through a megaphone from atop a stepladder in Hyde Park on Wednesday, Boyega spoke out not only against police killings in the U.S. and the U.K., but also the corrosive effects that racism has on the mental health and wellbeing of people of color.
“Every black person in here remembered when another person reminded you that you were black,” Boyega said. “I need you to understand how painful this s**t 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.”
“I’m speaking to you from my heart,” Boyega said. “Look, I don’t know if I’m going to have a career after this, but f**k that.”