Star Wars‘ Mark Hamill told co-star John Boyega he has “never been more proud of him” after the young actor gave an impassioned speech at London’s Black Lives Matter protest on Wednesday (June 3, 2020).
The 28-year-old delivered rousing words to the crowd at Hyde Park, who had gathered to protest against racial inequality following the tragic death of African-American George Floyd at the hands of white police officers in America last week.
“Black lives have always mattered,” John told his fellow demonstrators. “We have always been important. We have always meant something. We have always succeeded regardless. And now is the time. I ain’t waiting…We are a physical representation of our support for George Floyd. We are a physical representation of our support for Sandra Bland. We are a physical representation of our support for Trayvon Martin. We are a physical representation of our support for Stephen Lawrence.
“I’m speaking to you from my heart. Look, I don’t know if I’m going to have a career after this, but f**k that.”
The screen star fought back tears as he continued to reference other black victims of police brutality, and urged the protesters to keep things as “peaceful as possible” to avoid any problems with law enforcement, John concluded: “I need you to understand how painful this s**t is. I need you to understand how painful it is to be reminded every day that your race means nothing and that isn’t the case anymore, that was never the case anymore.”
Following his passionate speech, John was praised by the Luke Skywalker actor, who shared a link to his powerful words and wrote alongside it:
Never been more proud of you, John. @JohnBoyega
❤️, dad https://t.co/XcXvBcblPG— Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) June 3, 2020
The official Star Wars account also posted a clip of John’s speech on their Instagram page, writing:
View this post on InstagramWe stand with and support you, @johnboyega. View his full speech at link in bio.
