Janelle Monáe is calling for a change in the way of the action. During a round table discussion for The Hollywood Reporterthe actress and singer opened up about the measures considered necessary to enact long-term changes of the society and how it has been reacting to the ongoing conversations about race in the united states. “For me, I’m trying to figure out how to channel my anger. That is my emotion,” he said. “One of the things that I have learned about me is that I don’t have the answer for those who say they are allies. I’m not the solution for the lip service. If you want to prove to me that you are an ally, you have to be rooted in acts of service.” Janelle then calls his white friends and supporters of his to start difficult conversations about white supremacy and slavery to bring the Black Lives Matter movement a step further to dismantle systemic racism.
“I want to see more scripts where you are typing for the human being, you’re not pushing me to be a stereotype of what you think that Blackness.”
Janelle points out that, while many are using this time to verify your point of view, the reflection is not a privilege, everyone has to navigate through the multiple pandemics currently plaguing the society. “For me and for my people, for the Black community, this is not an exciting time,” he said. “This is not a time that leads us to reflect. We are dealing with a great amount of trauma . . . Blacks constitute the essential of the workers, who will make sure that we have our packages and our food, and this is not a time to reflect on the manner in which we, as artists, we have the privilege of doing. Therefore, I’m checking my privilege, and I also mourn with my people.”
Janelle added that she hopes to see more functions are opened in the acting world that allow her to see herself exactly represented as a Black person on the screen. “I want to see more scripts where you are typing for the human being, you’re not pushing me to be a stereotype of what you think of Blackness,” he said. Realizing his role in the Amazon Prime series Back home as an example of progress, Janelle says that she hopes to have the freedom to break boundaries and explore different genres, both in his music and future performance.
In order to transform a systemic change from an idea into a reality outside of the screen, Janelle noted that action should be taken to recruit more Black people in executive positions, and remove the normalization of the abuse of authority that many police officers have taken advantage of. She also added that she is a strong supporter of the movement to cut funds to the police and seeks to redistribute that money toward the society of the education and health systems. “This is a time for Black people to defend our land and ask for more of our systems,” said Janelle. “Because it can’t just be,” we’re going to march with you and make a hashtag.’ You have to be rooted in justice.”
