In the face of such brutality, what is the most dignified attitude, the cry or the silence? The question has shaken American artistic circles since the death of George Floyd, provoked May 25 by police in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In his youth, this African-American had frequented hip-hop circles in Houston (Texas), to the point of putting his voice on a few songs produced by local glory, DJ Screw. His death, of an unbearable violence, only more struck the cultural actors, across the Atlantic.
Immediately, frescoes in his memory appeared on the city walls, from Baltimore to Los Angeles. Chartered by artist Jamie Holmes and his gallery, a plane floated over Detroit, New York or Dallas the last words of Floyd – "They will kill me" -, in black letters on a white banner. Filmmakers from Spike Lee to David Lynch have uploaded short films to his credit. Several Hollywood figures (Jamie Foxx, Timothée Chalamet, John Cusack …) have joined the anonymous who have beaten the pavement, on both sides of the United States.
However, it was from the music industry, which was particularly sensitive to police slippage, that the loudest clamors came. Pop stars Ariana Grande, Chance the Rapper and Miguel appeared in the processions of demonstrators. On social networks, the most promising voices in music business have unleashed their anger: "If I still hear a white person say 'All lives count', I'm going to freak out," exclaimed singer Billie Eilish on Instagram, criticizing the hijacking of the slogan "Black Lives Matter".
Black square and petition
Tuesday, June 2 – renamed "Blackout Tuesday" -, the entire music industry stopped, small and large structures encouraging the " reflection " and at the "Solidarity". The same day, on social networks, the main stars posted, which a black square, which links to various associations. A heavyweight in hip-hop, Jay-Z called the governor of Minnesota to toughen sanctions against the police before buying a full page of advertising in several American daily newspapers reproducing a speech by Martin Luther King.
In the same spirit, a petition, signed by Lizzo, The Weeknd or John Legend, called for reducing the police budget, for the benefit of health or education. Against the current, Krist Novoselic was indignant at the increase in looting; but faced with the excitement aroused by his ode to " the law " and to "Order", the ex-Nirvana bassist had to restrict access to his Facebook page. Otherwise unifying, Bruce Springsteen opened his radio show with his song American Skin (41 Shots), written in 2000 in reaction to the death of Amadou Diallo, victim of a racist blunder: "This song lasts almost eight minutes, clarified the rocker. The time it took for George Floyd to die. "
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