In a subtle yet powerful statement, the cast of the upcoming film Selma donned “I Can’t Breathe” t-shirts before Sunday’s New York City premiere of the movie.
Twelve cast and crew members posed on the steps of the New York Public Library’s main branch with their hands up. Director Ava DuVernay and star David Oyelowo were amongst the participants.
Their demonstration comes a mere day after more than 25,000 New Yorkers took to the city streets in what is being called the Millions March to protest the injustices in the Michael Brown and Eric Garner cases.
“We couldn’t have predicted what would happen in terms of what’s going on, race relations-wise,” Oyelowo, who plays Dr. Martin Luther King in the film, told The Associated Press. “We finished shooting in early July, and by early August, Michael Brown had been murdered, and now we’re in the middle of the Eric Garner situation. I just think it shows we do not live in a post-racial America.”