Tinashe says ‘this is absolutely the time’ to ‘be bold’ and ‘loud’ amid Black Lives Matter protests

Tinashe is urging her friends and followers in support of the Black Lives Matter be ‘loud’ and ‘bold,’ amid protests over the unjust death of George Floyd.

‘[I’m] trying to help people understand that this never came from a place where we have to be afraid to speak out. We should be loud, we should be bold. This is absolutely the time,’ explained the 27-year-old singer in an interview with UsWeekly on Friday.

She also noted that people have ‘a responsibility to call out [their] peers who are using language that maybe isn’t helpful to the cause at the moment.’

Tinashe also said that seeing ‘friends posting about the looting and rioting,’ instead of the peaceful protest has been ‘really frustrating’ for her.

She believes that people manipulating the movement’s narrative into a violent one has detracted from the ‘real unity’ that exists within Black Lives Matter.

‘This is an unprecedented moment in time where we can really come together. We can’t post dangerous content at this time. It’s just not worth it.’  

As for accurately staying up-to-date on protests and making sure information is accurate, Tinashe suggested people follow the likes of journalist Elaine Welteroth and fellow female artists Kehlani and Lauren Jauregui.   

Tinashe also opened up about the ‘amazing’ experience she has had attending Black Lives Matter protests in Los Angeles and how rewarding it has been to personally experience the movement. 

‘I was just seeing everything that was happening, and posting on Instagram just didn’t feel like enough. I felt like, ‘What could I do to actually, physically put myself into this narrative?’ And so I went down, and that was the first day of protest.’

She continued: ‘And ever since then, they’ve just gotten bigger and bigger and more unified. And it’s just really been amazing to see.’   

Based on her experience, Tinashe said that the protest environment ‘didn’t feel scary and it didn’t feel violent.’

‘There were obviously moments where that really escalated. When the police would step in and use their unnecessary force, that was really called out, which is amazing that we have the use of cellphones and we have all these ways to share that, because I think that that helped people really see that the protesters themselves weren’t the ones that were the agitators.

‘It was never a fear energy, it was never an energy of anger. It was always like, “We are here, we are one, we are brave, we’ll stand together,”‘ said the Link Up songstress.

Tinashe also commented on the recent Hannah Brown N-word scandal, where the 25-year-old Bachelor Nation star happened to utter the racial slur while singing along to the song Rockstar by rapper DaBaby.  

‘I understand how people can find it confusing to love pop culture and black culture and to want to be a part of it. In their own way, they think it’s probably harmless to say in their safe spaces,’ she said compassionately.

But Tinashe also made clear that it is ‘important to know’ that saying the slur often ‘goes way beyond your safe space.’ 

‘And if you feel comfortable saying it in your safe space, then what does that say about what you would do outside of that safe space?

I think that’s what we really need to start thinking about, is how are we looking at black people, black culture, when black people aren’t around,’ concluded Tinashe 

Most recently Tinashe took to the streets of Hollywood to protest the senseless killing of George Floyd, who died at the hands of police on May 25.

For Tuesday’s protest, she wielded a large, homemade sign that had the phrase ‘Black Lives Matter’ written on it in red ink.  

Earlier that day, Tinashe appeared on NBC news where discussed how she plans to use her voice to ‘focus attention on racial inequality and injustice in America.’ 

She suited up for her day of protesting in an all black ensemble that included a face mask, ball cap, sports bra, and a pair of sweatpants.

Tinashe trekked down the pavement in a pair of black trainers and donned a single chain around her neck. 

The Throw A Fit songstress has been documenting her protest experience on Instagram and has been sharing constant resource links on her Instagram Story. 

In her most recent Instagram post, Tinashe shared a photo of herself carrying her sign above her head while walking along the freeway. 

And during her interview with Global Hangout’s Caroline Modarressy via webcam on Tuesday, she spoke candidly about her experience and WHY she captioned ‘show up’ on her post.

‘Showing up for me, is finding whatever it is that you can do to get active in your community or in your space,’ she explained.

‘I understand that a lot of people cannot get out there, but there are so many things that you can do from your home to still be involved in this cause right now.’

Tinashe also provided a ‘different side of the protest than the media has been showing’ by recalling her personal experience protesting over the past week.

‘It has been really important for me to document on my socials first hand what I have seen and I have just seen inspiration and solidarity and thousands and thousands of people of all different ethnicities and walks of life coming together to share a message and it is incredibly empowering and it’s incredibly inspiring.’

Tinashe added: ‘The energy is just so palpable and the people genuinely want change and they genuinely care. And that has been my experience with the protests.’ 

She admitted that she has not ‘directly seen any violence at all, so to know that from the outside looking in they seem so chaotic.’

‘For the most part, the ones that I have personally participated in have been extremely beautiful.’

Thousands of protesters marched the streets of Hollywood on Tuesday where they were met by varying degrees of law enforcement from the LAPD to the National Guard, according to The Los Angeles Times.  

The death of 46-year-old George Floyd in Minneapolis has sparked days of demonstrations across the nation over police brutality against African-Americans.  

On May 25, Floyd – an unarmed, African-American male – experienced a horrific death at the hands of police in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  

In the horrifying video footage of Floyd’s death, he is seen saying that he can not breathe as officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on his neck.

Eventually he went silent and limp, and he was later declared dead.

Protests swelled after federal authorities said Thursday that they were making the case a top priority but announced no arrests at that time.

The Minneapolis policeman accused of killing Floyd, Chauvin, was taken into custody Friday and charged with third-degree murder, officials said.