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Emma Watson has been forced to defend herself after attracting criticism for her Blackout Tuesday posts this week.
The campaign was dedicated to promoting the Black Lives Matter movement in the wake of African-American man George Floyd's death at the hands of white cops in Minneapolis, Minnesota on 25 May, and saw entertainment industry officials shutting down all promotions for the day and many stars closing down their websites in support.
However, after the Harry Potter actress was met with some backlash online for merely posting three black boxes on her Instagram page without words, she went on to share a piece of art by Dr. Fahamu Pecou and explained her silence.
"I was holding off posting until #blackouttuesday ended in the UK," she penned. "The Artwork of my brilliant dear friend @fahamupecou 'White Lies, Subtleties, Micro-Aggressions, and Other Choking Hazards' B R O K E N O P E N (poem + text from the series BLACK MATTER LIVES) by Dr Fahamu Pecou."
Emma then shared the entirety of the poem and also quoted Pecou, adding: "We can not be broken. We do not break. For too long we've been afraid that their violence would end us. But we are still here. Some they took, but they've all come back. They never truly left. Say their names #AhmaudArbery #BreonnaTaylor #GeorgeFloyd."
"I stand with you," the 30-year-old wrote in another post. "There is so much racism, both in our past and present, that is not acknowledged or accounted for.
"White supremacy is one of the systems of hierarchy and dominance, of exploitation and oppression, that is tightly stitched into society. As a white person, I have benefited from this."