Singer-songwriter and producer Janelle Monáe led a rally and march in support of the Black Lives Matter movement in Philadelphia on Wednesday. She was joined by rapper and Wondaland Records labelmate Jidenna, as she addressed the crowd of gathered protestors.
“They say a question lives forever, until it gets the answer it deserves,” Monáe said. “Won’t you say their names? Can we say their names right now? Can we speak their names, as long as we have breath in our bodies?”
The hashtag #SayHerName has been widely shared on social media as a way to amplify discussions around black women killed or sexually harassed by police in the US. Though the hashtag has been in use for several months, arising as an offshoot of #BlackLivesMatter, it recently gained traction following the death of Sandra Bland in police custody in Texas last month.
Before playing a gig later on Wednesday evening, Monáe and Jidenna led chants of the names of black women and men who have died either in police custody or during altercations with the police. Monáe led the crowd in singing an energetic version of the chorus of Hell You Talmbout, a bonus track from her 2013 album The Electric Lady.
Monáe joins several musicians who have spoken out in public or on social media about the Black Lives Matter movement. Notably, at this years Grammys, Pharrell Williams and Beyoncé all used the award show’s platform to draw attention to the movement, referencing the “hands up, don’t shoot” gesture associated with teenager Michael Brown’s death in Ferguson, Missouri. Prince, while speaking on the subject of albums, simply said: “like books, and black lives, they still matter”.
