On Thursday, Naomi Ackie was named one of the 2020 British Academy Television Awards nominees for his role in The End of the F***ing World. Naomi, who received a nomination for best supporting actress, reacted to the news in Instagram post while the direction of the global conversation about social justice. “It feels very strange to receive a nomination at this time,” she wrote. “On the one hand I’m elated, over the moon with happiness. On the other, I’m not going to ignore the magnitude of [the] future challenges at the global level. It feels strange to have the two feelings in the same body. The hope and the despair. The pride and the shame. The happiness and the melancholy. The motivation and apathy.”
“For all the shoulders I stand on, my ancestors, my family, my allies, those who have died and those who hold my hand right now to help me achieve my purpose. I thank you.”
The actress went on to share how he has reconciled his feelings of joy during a time of distress. “There is a sense of guilt in feeling happy sometimes, knowing what has come before and how far there is to go,” she continued. “I have begun to learn, however, that the persistent defense of the joy in a small act of rebellion in itself. The ability of resistance to make space for you I feel openly, it is a small act of rebellion. I am very proud. I feel recognized. I feel galvanized and above all I am grateful. For all the shoulders I stand on, my ancestors, my family, my allies, those who have died and those who hold my hand right now to help me achieve my purpose. I thank you. To all my actors of color are HERE! And we are not going anywhere! Xxx.”
Naomi’s statement comes in the midst of all the world called to action after the murder of George Floyd, Breonna Taylorand Ahmaud Arbery. Your Star Wars cost, John Boyega, recently spoke out against racial injustice in Black Lives Matter protest in London, saying: “Black lives have always mattered. We have always been important. We’ve always wanted to say something. We have always been successful regardless. And now is the time. No he’s waiting for me.”
Image Source: Getty / Daniel Boczarski
