Paul McCartney on Black Lives Matter: ‘I Want Justice for George Floyd’s Family, I Want Justice for All Those Who Have Died and Suffered’

On Friday, Sir Paul McCartney posted a lengthy message to his official website and social media pages regarding the police killing of George Floyd on May 25, the Black Lives Matter movement and the protests that have been going on across the United States for much of the past week.

The message, in which McCartney says “All of us here support and stand alongside all those who are protesting and raising their voices at this time,” among other pointed words, comes after significant attention has been paid to both the story of Floyd and the protesting in the streets.

In raising his voice and sharing his view on the situation, McCartney joins the music icons who have done so in recent days, such as Bruce Springsteen and Neil Young, among many others.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CBEL1QbHoPM/

McCartney’s message, in full:

“As we continue to see the protests and demonstrations across the world, I know many of us want to know just what we can be doing to help. None of us have all the answers and there is no quick fix but we need change. We all need to work together to overcome racism in any form. We need to learn more, listen more, talk more, educate ourselves and, above all, take action.

In 1964 The Beatles were due to play Jacksonville in the US and we found out that it was going to be to a segregated audience. It felt wrong. We said ‘We’re not doing that!’ And the concert we did do was to their first non-segregated audience. We then made sure this was in our contract. To us it seemed like common sense.

I feel sick and angry that here we are almost 60 years later and the world is in shock at the horrific scenes of the senseless murder of George Floyd at the hands of police racism, along with the countless others that came before.

 All of us here support and stand alongside all those who are protesting and raising their voices at this time. I want justice for George Floyd’s family, I want justice for all those who have died and suffered. Saying nothing is not an option. “ – Love Paul McCartney

Here are some of the important organisations to support in this fight for justice:

Black Lives Matter
https://blacklivesmatter.com

Color Of Change
https://colorofchange.org

NAACP
https://www.naacp.org

Stand Up to Racism
https://www.standuptoracism.org.uk/

Community Justice Exchange 
https://www.communityjusticeexchange.org

Campaign Zero
https://www.joincampaignzero.org 

Ringo Starr echoed the sentiment put out by Paul McCartney in a statement of his own:

As my brother Paul said The Beatles always stood for equal rights&justice and I’ve never stopped working for peace&love ever since. #blacklivesmatter,#peaceispossible-I send my peace love&continuous support to everyone marching & speaking up for justice & a better world 😎✌️🌟❤️

As my brother Paul said The Beatles always stood for equal rights&justice and I’ve never stopped working for peace&love ever since. #blacklivesmatter,#peaceispossible-I send my peace love&continuous support to everyone marching & speaking up for justice & a better world 😎✌️🌟❤️ pic.twitter.com/YNznLJGeV4

— #RingoStarr (@ringostarrmusic) June 6, 2020