Celebrities are once again speaking out against police brutality and systemic racism in a PSA called #SomedayIsToday, put together by Campaign Zero. The video, featuring Marlon Wayans, Meagan Good, Tina Knowles-Lawson, Cedric the Entertainer, and more, takes the ongoing conversation about the relationship between police and the people of color they serve one step further, with a call for support of Campaign Zero's detailed program of policy solutions.
The first of two parts of the PSA begins with celebrities reciting the lyrics to “We Shall Overcome,” a protest song long associated with the Civil Rights Movement. The first video ends with text: “We have been fighting against systemic racism, wrongful incarceration, and police brutality for longer than most of us have been alive,” before asking the question: “When is someday?”
The PSA's director, Tommy Oliver, wrote about the idea behind it: “We all know the song, we’ve heard it a thousand times and sang it a hundred, We Shall Overcome, We Shall Overcome Someday… The question that popped into my head was: when is Someday? Some day is today—today is the day we take control of our narrative, take control of our heritage, take control of not only our lives, but of the lives of those who look like us.”
Similarly, activist and Campaign Zero co-creator Johnetta “Netta” Elzie told Mashable "A lot of people wonder, when is someday?" Elzie added, "Even the 'I Have A Dream' speech says 'one day'—but when is that day? [These videos] are saying today is that day. Today. You can start today, if you aren't already involved. It can happen today.”
Last month, Beyoncé, Rihanna, and Chance The Rapper were some of the artists to speak out against police violence in a video listing “23 Ways You Could Be Killed If You Are Black in America."
The latest police shooting to gain national attention occured on Monday, when Baltimore County police fatally shot 23-year-old black woman Korryn Gaines.
You can watch part two of the PSA above, and for more information you can visit WhenIsSomeday.com.
