‘I’m ashamed I didn’t listen more’: Ellie Goulding vows to be a ‘better ally’ as she pledges her support to the Black Lives Matter movement
Ellie Goulding has vowed to be ‘a better ally’ as she pledged her support to the Black Lives Matter movement on Instagram on Thursday.
The singer, 33, admitted she felt ‘ashamed I didn’t listen more’ and has taken it upon herself to educate herself on ‘confronting the truths head on’ and ‘recognising unconscious bias’ .
Ellie wrote: ‘After being initially horrified I [spent] the past few days learning and listening, opening my ears to voices that have been protesting this for years and dedicating their lives to it, to voices I am ashamed that I didn’t listen to more, to history I safely and comfortably knew a bit about but not enough.
Speaking out: Ellie Goulding has vowed to be ‘a better ally’ as she pledged her support to the Black Lives Matter movement on Instagram on Thursday
‘I’m letting you all know that I am now a student of this forever, so that I can become an ally. I am confronting the truths head on. I am recognising unconscious bias.
‘I am consciously understanding white privilege and how it got the most of us to where we are now,’ she continued.
‘I take it upon MYSELF to learn, not others. I will ENGAGE now and always. I know the importance of coming together for a greater purpose. Our ability to create change is real!!!
Taking a stand: Ellie was also among the 25 million who took part in Blackout Tuesday for the Black Lives Matter movement, following the senseless death of George Floyd
Honest: The singer, 33, admitted she felt ‘ashamed I didn’t listen more’ and has taken it upon herself to educate herself on ‘confronting the truths head on’
‘This is not an “American issue” this is confronting the disease of systemic racism and inequality that still exists all over the world.’
‘To the protestors out there, I am here for you and here to fight with you.’
Ellie was also among the 25 million who took part in Blackout Tuesday for the Black Lives Matter movement, following the senseless death of George Floyd.
George, 46, an African-American man, died on May 25 after a white police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
His death has sparked days of demonstrations across the nation over police brutality against African-Americans.
The Minneapolis policeman accused of killing Floyd, Derek Chauvin, was taken into custody Friday and charged with third-degree murder, officials said.
Black Lives Matter, which was first founded in 2013 following the acquittal of George Zimmerman and was nationally recognized for its involvement in the Ferguson protests in 2014 has been galvanized once more following the death of Floyd.
Troubling: George, 46, an African-American man, died on May 25 after a white police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes in Minneapolis, Minnesota