US rock star Bruce Springsteen (70, “Born To Run”) used his appearance as a guest DJ on the radio station Sirius XM for an urgent appeal against racism and police violence. At the start of the broadcast on Wednesday, he played his protest song “American Skin (41 Shots)” and dedicated it to the African American George Floyd, who died as a result of police brutality.
“This song is almost eight minutes long. And that’s how long George Floyd’s death took while a policeman in Minneapolis pressed a knee to his neck,” said Springsteen. “American Skin (41 Shots)” from 2001 denounces the actions of four white police officers, who in 1999 shot down the unarmed black immigrant Amadou Diallo with 41 shots.
Springsteen presented protest songs by other artists, including “Strange Fruit” by Billie Holiday, “This is America” by Childish Gambino or Bob Marley’s “Burnin” and Lootin ‘”, as well as excerpts from a speech by black civil rights activist Martin Luther King from 1963.
“The country is on fire and in chaos,” said Springsteen, referring to the severe crisis in the United States caused by the coronavirus pandemic and police violence. “40 million people are unemployed. More than 100,000 people have died of Covid-19, and only the mildest and heartless answer comes from our White House. As of today, our police continue to kill our black citizens in the streets of America unnecessarily. “
Source: Apa / dpa
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