Gary Miller/WireImageGary Clark Jr. has spoken out about the death of George Floyd, urging fans and fellow musicians to speak out against and condemn racism.
“I feel like every time I walk out of my godd*** house, I could die today,” Clark says in a nearly 10-minute long Instagram video. “I’m a six-foot-four black man. I’m probably some of y’all’s worst nightmare.”
“We just want to wake up in the morning, go and make the most out of what we can, get what we can for ourselves and for our family and go the f*** back home,” he continues. “That’s all. Why’s it so hard? Why is that a worry and a challenge?”
Speaking to those who’ve stayed quiet while family members or friends say or do racist things, Clark pleads, “I need y’all to talk to y’all’s people.”
“What do you gotta lose?” he asks. “You gonna lose a relationship with somebody who’s got bad energy? Whose mentality is twisted?…Why don’t y’all stand up to those people?”
Clark then speaks to musicians “calling [themselves] blues guys” who praise iconic black artists like Robert Johnson, B.B. King and Freddie King but go quiet “when we’re lying on the ground.”
“Y’all appreciate us when we’re high and mighty and superstars, but when we need help, you got nothing?” Clark asks.
Speaking about the need for artists to stand up against racism, Clark says, “You got direct access to those people who are f***ing it up for everybody. Talk to ’em. That’s your family, that’s your demographic, those are your fans, those are your supporters.”
“You don’t get to eat off of us and then leave us to die, or just leave us some scraps,” he says. “Then you’re over there, and let it be known then.”
By Josh Johnson
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