In support of Black Lives Matter, BTS released a statement in which the members declared that they “stand against racial discrimination” after the recent deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, David McAtee and other unarmed Black Americans. The band took to their Twitter on Thursday, June 4, with a statement in Korean and English about how the K-pop group condemns systemic racial violence and discrimination.
“We stand against racial discrimination. We condemn violence. You, I and we all have the right to be respected. We will stand together.#BlackLivesMatter,” the members, Jungkook, RM, Jimin, V, J-Hope, Jin and Suga, said in a statement.
BTS’ tweet comes after hundreds of thousands of people marched across the world in protest of police brutality and systemic racial violence. The marches come in the wake of the murders of Floyd, Taylor, McAtee and other unarmed Black Americans at the hands of police officers. Floyd, an 46-year-old unarmed Black man, was murdered on May 25 by police officer Derek Chauvin. Floyd died after Chauvin placed his knee on the man’s neck for almost nine minutes. Chauvin has since been arrested and charged with second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. The three other officers, Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane, who were present and did nothing to prevent Floyd’s death were also arrested and charged with aiding and abetting murder.
Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman and an EMT, died on March 13 after Louisville police wrongfully charged into her apartment and fired at least eight shots at her. David McAtee, a 53-year-old Black man and the owner of Yaya’s BBQ in Louisville, Kentucky, died on June 1 after police officers opened fire at a protest. The deaths of Floyd, Taylor, McAtee and countless other Black people from police violence have sparked protests across the world, demanding justice, reform and end to systemic racial violence. BTS joins a growing list of celebrities, who also include Meghan Markle, Ariana Grande and Halsey, who have spoken out about police brutality.