The actor has spoken about the powerful speech he delivered at Sunday’s BET Awards.
At Sunday’s BET Awards Jesse Williams was honoured with the Humanitarian Award for his work with the Black Lives Matter Movement. Accepting the award, the ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ star gave a powerful and though provoking speech about racial issues, social justice and cultural appropriation, which soon spread online.
Jesse Williams has spoken about his BET Awards speech.
Talking about the speech to People magazine Williams said: "Words are only as good as the response to those words. But I'd like to think that I give people a sense that they are not alone." The 34-year-old said he believes addressing disparities in the education system is crucial to progress.
More: Jesse Williams Slams Police Brutality And Cultural Appropriation In BET Awards Speech
"Otherwise we are treating the symptoms and not the sickness," he continued, adding that schools generally do not properly teach "about African people and the contributions of brown people in the history of the world and this country."
"If we keep poisoning our children to believe that we are nothing and that white people are everything, thats when it finds itself reflected in the way we treat each other. Its not that complicated.
"The truth we are teaching is that every contribution in the history of the planet came from blonde people. It's not true and its destructive and people are getting killed longterm as a result. People don't believe that we deserve it."
"We now have access to more information to view as a parent," he added. "I grew up in a really horrible school system, but my parents did not let that define how we function. They gave me more work at home from them than I ever got from school. To learn about the history of myself and my people and that armours me."
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