Insecure and How to Get Away with Murder actor Kendrick Sampson has been using his voice to speak on Black Lives Matter and issues pertaining to the black community for years. So, it wasn’t surprising that when protests were being organized following the police-involved killing of George Floyd, Kendrick Sampson made sure that he was on the ground and in the crowd among members of his community in solidarity with supporters worldwide.
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Last weekend, Kendrick joined marchers in Los Angeles and for those tuned in, he streamed much of his experiences on Instagram Live. There were a few of his fans among the protesters, as well, but instead of approaching the actor for an autograph, they filmed him being beaten by members of the Los Angeles Police Department.
“Glad I y’all witnessed this,” he tweeted. “Esp the video of them actually targeting us. He didn’t try to ricochet the bullets of the ground – one tactic – he pointed the gun DIRECTLY AT ME. I actually got hit 7 times with rubber bullets and many with batons. My boy has stitches. #DEFUNDPOLICE.”
In a recent op-ed for Variety, Kendrick Sampson detailed his experience and why it’s important for him to stand for marginalized communities. “I’m still working through stuff that happened when I was a kid, stuff that happened at Standing Rock four years ago, working through these videos of public Black death, these lynchings that we’ve continued seeing, so I don’t know the scope of the trauma that I experienced Saturday,” he wrote. “I feel very strong and I’m really exhausted at the same time. But I also feel a resolve to move forward. I feel like we need to liberate folks and we cannot let up.” Check it out below.
