Mic Media has partnered with Alicia Keyes on a poignant video titled “23 Ways You Could Be Killed If You’re Black in America,” featuring 26 celebrities listing high profile deaths of black men and women killed by police, vigilantes or white supremacists while going about mundane activities. Individuals include Sandra Bland, Philando Castile, Ramarley Graham, Eric Garner, Oscar Grant III, Gregg Gunn, Freddie Gray, Alton Sterling, Trayvon Martin, Mario Woods, Laquan McDonald, Samuel Dubose, Tamir Rice, Walter L. Scott, Sean Bell, Akai Gurley, Renisha McBride, India M. Beaty, Cynthia Marie Graham Hurd, Susie Jackson, Ethel Lee Lance, Depayne Middleton-Doctor, Clementa C. Pinckney, Tywanza Sanders, Daniel Simmons, Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, Myra Thompson, John Crawford III, Rekia Boyd, Amadou Diallo, Jamar Clark,
Filmed in black and white, each celebrity lists the activity the deceased were in the midst of before being killed followed by an image of the individual, starting with Alicia Keyes, who recites “failing to signal a lane change” for Sandra Bland, who died in prison in Texas under suspicious circumstances in July of last year.
Keyes is followed by Beyoncé, Chris Rock, Pink, Talib Kweli, Janelle Monáe, Chance, Taraji B. Henson, Pharrell, Common, Queen Latifah, Kevin Hart, Rosario Dawson, Swizz Beatz, Lenny Kravitz, Zoë Kravitz, ASAP Rocky, Jada Pinkett Smith, Bono, Jennifer Hudson, Van Jones, Tracee Ellis Ross, Adam Levine, Maxwell and Rihanna.
The video was inspired by an article written by Mic senior editor Jamilah King, who wrote, “I did this to prove a point: There is a tax on black life in America, and we are better than this.” Keyes aided in bringing the celebrity contributions, and closed out the video with a call to action, asking watchers to contact Congress and President Obama, saying, “We demand radical transformation to heal the long history of systemic racism so that all Americans have the equal right to live and pursue happiness.”
