Trenton McDaniel
19
Accounting
Freshman
Magnolia, Mississippi
No, I do not. I think that they don’t have an obligation to speak out. The George Floyd incident made a lot of celebrities speak out that didn’t want to and that shouldn’t have happened. My opinion is that celebrities don’t have to speak up for us because their viewpoints may be different than ours.
Carmen Harper
18
Biology/Pre-Nursing
Freshman
Greenwood, Mississippi
Yes, because they have a larger platform than most African Americans who fight for equality and change.
Ian Freightman
19
Biology
Sophomore
Gulfport, Mississippi
No, I don’t think that they have the responsibility to speak out. I will say that it would be nice for them to because celebrities have a great following that would agree with whatever that they would say. Again, it is not a responsibility for them to have because the harsh reality of it is, is that it isn’t their problem.
Bra’Nya Crowder
18
Criminal Justice
Freshman
Yazoo City, Mississippi
I think African American celebrities have some responsibility to speak out on issues affecting the African American community because they have large platforms and a lot of influence. When they speak up, it can bring attention to problems that might otherwise be ignored.
Joshua Mann
18
Human Development and Family Science
Freshman
Terry, Mississippi
No, but I think that if they were to speak out about the atrocities it would reach more people due to their status. The way I see it is, although it’s not their responsibility, their voices hold weight which can help out when speaking on the situations at hand especially in today’s world where African Americans are always a topic.
