A 12-year-old from Miami who starred in "The Hate U Give" has been lending his voice to the Black Lives Matter movement.
Actor TJ Wright said he sees parallels between the 2018 film based on Angie Thomas' novel and issues our society currently faces, such as police brutality.
In the movie, Wright plays Sekani Carter, the younger brother of protagonist Starr Carter, who witnesses a police officer fatally shoot her childhood best friend.
"I just feel like it's something that needs to be watched and needs to be shared because it's a real issue that's happening now," he said. "This one is just a real issue ... that needs to be tackled. And it also needs to be shown and portrayed more in movies."
Wright describes "The Hate U Give" as an eye-opening and helpful movie that also tackles issues of racism, as Starr lives in an impoverished, mostly Black neighborhood but attends an affluent, mostly white prep school. The film can be educational, according to Wright.
"It can show you things that you may be doing ... that you could stop doing because they kind of can be racist in the big picture," he said.
The recent deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and others have resulted in protests across the country calling for police reform and justice.
"It's something that's going to keep on happening unless we address it quicker and get it to be something that police can be trained on or people can be more aware of," Wright said.
While he knew "The Hate U Give" realistically portrayed protests, Wright didn't realize the extent of the film's accuracy until he attended a recent demonstration.
"They were doing the same chants there. They were fighting for the same issues," he said. "To see it happening in real life for one of the first times in my life was just so sad. It really hit close to home for me."
In addition to attending protests and signing petitions, Wright is using his platform to inform his followers, share ways they can help and send messages of unity.
"Everybody's a human being no matter what skin color," he said. "I just feel like everybody should just spread love no matter what because at the end of the day, everybody still has one thing in general that they can all relate to, and that's the feeling of wanting love and compassion and people to care about you."
Watch "The Hate U Give" on Amazon, HBO and YouTube. Follow Wright on Instagram (@therealtjwright) and Facebook (@tjwrightjr).
