Spike Lee has spoken out about racial injustice following the death of George Floyd, revealing a powerful new short film titled 3 Brothers — Radio Raheem, Eric Garner, and George Floyd.
The clip features footage of Mr Floyd's death and also shows Eric Garner’s death in 2014, combined with a scene from Lee’s 1989 film Do The Right Thing, in which Bill Nunn’s Radio Raheem is strangled to death by white police officers.
It comes amid protests staged in America and the UK, after video footage emerged showing Mr Floyd being pinned down by his neck by a Minnesota police offer. He later died, and the officer who was filmed holding him down has been charged with murder.
Eric Garner, who is also shown in the clip, was placed in a chokehold by an NYPD police officer, and suffered a heart attack. He had been stopped for allegedly selling loose cigarettes in Staten Island on July 17, 2014. No criminal charges were brought against the arresting officer, prompting widespread demonstrations across the US.
Lee introduced the powerful short film during an appearance on Don Lemon’s CNN program. “How can people not understand why people are acting the way they are?” he said.
“This is not new, we saw with the riots in the ’60s, the assassination of Dr. King, every time something jumps off and we don’t get our justice, people are reacting they way they do to be heard.
“We are seeing this again and again and again. This is the thing: the killing of black bodies, that is what this country is built upon.”
Spike Lee is the latest influential name to speak out in light of recent events. Beyonce called for an end to the “senseless killings of human beings” while Rihanna shared her “devastation, anger [and] sadness” on Instagram.
It was also recently confirmed that the music industry is set to unite for a day of silence today in solidarity with protestors under the hashtag #TheShowMustBePaused.
