John Boyega Gives Powerful Speech at London Black Lives Matter Protest

John Boyega is a hero on and off the screen.

The Star Wars actor delivered a powerful speech to a large crowd that gathered around Hyde Park in London on Wednesday.

Many joined the 28-year-old star during a peaceful protest in support of the Black Lives Matter movement and to honor George Floyd, who was killed by a Minneapolis police officer on Monday, May 25.

“Black lives have always mattered,” Boyega said into a megaphone so the crowd could hear his message, which was captured by Twitter users. “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.”

“Every Black person understands and realizes the first time you are reminded that you are black,” he continued. “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–t is,” the Stars Wars actor expressed, as he struggled to hold back the tears. “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.”

“We are a physical representation of our support for George Floyd,” Boyega stated, while also listing the names of several other Black individuals who were killed.

On that list, he included: Sandra Bland, Trayvon Martin, Stephen Lawrence and Mark Duggan.

“It is very, very important that we keep control of this movement, and we make this as peaceful as possible,” he told the crowd. “They want us to mess up… Well, not today!”

Holding back the tears, Boyega said he had a message specifically for his Black brothers.

“Black men… we need to take care of Black women,” he expressed. “They are our hearts; they are our future. We cannot demonize our own. We are the pillars of the family.”

He continued, “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 told the crowd. “We can all join together to make this special.”

Boyega isn’t the only one to use his celebrity platform. Ariana Grande, Halsey, Insecure‘s Kendrick Sampson, Cole Sprouse and others have joined protests across the nation.

To see who has participated, read about it here.