The showrunner and cast of NBC’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine have donated $100,000 to The National Bail Fund Network to support the Black Lives Matter movement.
The move comes as protestors went to the streets to raise awareness of the BLM movement and demand justice for the death of George Floyd.
Members of the cast and Showrunner Dan Goor announced their donation on social media in an effort to take a stand against injustice.
A statement shared on their social media sites reads:
“The cast and showrunner of Brooklyn 99 condemn the murder of George Floyd and support the many people who are protesting police brutality nationally.”
The cast donated $100,000 to The National Bail Fund Network, a project which works with ‘advocates, organizers and legal providers across the US that are using, or contemplating using, community bail funds as part of efforts to radically change local bail systems and reduce incarceration’.
The cast went on encouraging people to look up their own local bail fund to do their part.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine has addressed racism within the police department before in an episode that sees Sgt. Terry Jeffords (played by actor Terry Crews) stopped by a white officer who questions why he’s walking the streets at night.
Despite the creators addressing racism, fans of the show are now calling for the writers to confront the issue of police brutality directly.
After George Floyd’s death, Terry Crews took to social media to give his condolences to Floyd’s family and admit that he could easily, easily be that man on the ground with that police officer’s knee on his neck.
Crews also expressed his disappointment in law enforcement, pointing out they are supposed to protect citizens, rather than hurt or even kill them. He recalled moments he’d had officers pull their guns on him during routine traffic stops, adding: ‘It’s wrong’.
Promoting discussions of the issues and raising awareness must continue. Being silent, or simply ‘not-racist’, is not enough. We all must be anti-racist.