Keke Palmer’s empowering talk with National Guard goes viral

'March beside us. Let the revolution be televised.'
June 3, 2020 11:01 a.m. EST
June 3, 2020 1:53 p.m. EST
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Keke Palmer exhibited incredible poise and resilience when she spoke to members of the National Guard who had been deployed to California. The Hustlers actress and Good Morning America co-host was marching with fellow Black Lives Matter supporters in Hollywood when the protesters encountered a group of National Guardsman. In a video that has now gone viral and has been viewed nearly 20 million times, Palmer engaged the soldiers in a frank conversation about racism and government leadership in America.The video was shared by Gadi Schwartz, a correspondent for NBC News. In the two-minute clip, Palmer urges the National Guard members to recognize that the message coming from many political leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump whom she calls out, and perpetrated by media outlets is different from what is taking place on the streets during the peaceful protests.[video_embed id='1969620']RELATED: Peaceful protests still happening in Minneapolis[/video_embed]“I don’t know if you’re on social media, because the news don’t tell you everything. But you have to pay attention to what’s going on. Or else, we have a president that’s trying to incite a race war. And the borders are closed. We can’t leave. You have people in here that need your help. This is when y’all stand together with the community, with society, to stop the governmental oppression. Period. We need you.” On soldier can be heard telling Palmer that he agrees with her, at which point Palmer encourages the group to march with her and the other protesters as a sign that they support the Black Lives Matter movement. Urging the soldiers to "be the change," Palmer continued, saying “So then why aren’t you with us? Why aren’t you beside us? Get your people. Y’all march beside us. March beside us! March beside us! Let the revolution be televised.”A second solider tells Palmer that the group can’t leave their post but will agree to march down the single block that houses the office buildings they’ve been instructed to protect. A second protester asks the soldiers to kneel in a sign of solidarity, which they do, but Palmer can be heard saying that this show of support isn’t enough to incite the real change that could come from the heavily armed soldiers choosing to walk with members of the community instead of guarding businesses.On June 3, the 26-year-old spoke with Good Morning America’s Robin Roberts about her moving words. Roberts asked Palmer about the response to the video and why she felt that the National Guardsmen and their effort to kneel was not enough. “In some of these cities where we’ve seen the kneeling, we’ve also seen the tear gassing and the chaos afterwards,” said Palmer. “I feel the reality is that we have a President that with every tweet incites divisiveness. Some would even say a situation where our military has orders to unleash on its citizens. Obviously, everybody has a choice to make and working for the government, whether you are a policeman or working with the National Guard or in politics, I think I as a citizen want to know what side of history you’re trying to be on.”Palmer added that she wants to know that the people in the uniforms are committed to saving lives, not taking them. “If we are unified then no matter who you are or what you’re wearing, we can create change. Buildings can be rebuilt. Once lives are taken, they’re gone.”Protests began last week following the death of Minneapolis man George Floyd, after a white police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes. In major cities throughout the U.S., Canada and around the world, citizens have gathered by the thousands to demand justice for Floyd, major overhauls to policing and an end to the systemic racism that has contributed to the oppression and death of people of colour.[video_embed id='1969662']RELATED: The Social hosts share their platform with black colleagues and friends[/video_embed]

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