"Better a fallen rocket than never a burst of light."
~ Tom Stoppard, The Invention of Love

Tuesday, June 2, 2020

Responses from the CW DC Universe: Vol. 1

Another collection of social media responses to George Floyd's murder and the ongoing protests. The CW DC family has been all over Twitter lately, speaking out as well as amplifying others' voices through retweets. There are a lot of people raising their voices here, and that's just the ones from the shows that I watch - I haven't checked out anything from the Arrow or Legends folks. In light of that groundswell, I realized I'm going to have to split this into at least two posts. Today, we're looking at responses from Black cast members of The Flash, Supergirl, Black Lightning, and Batwoman.

First of all, last month, the Black women of the Arrowverse (plus Riverdale's Vanessa Morgan) got together for a raw group video call discussing the murder of Ahmaud Arbery and their feelings about it. So much respect for all of these women coming together to support one another, agreeing to film their grief so others could see it:

Candice Patton (Iris on The Flash) has been retweeting a lot, especially from Martin Luther King Jr.'s daughter Bernice, who's been taking people to task for invoking her father's name to stop the protests instead of support them. She also highlighted this post calling on people to "take it further," subtly alluding to the inexcusable racism she's endured both on- and off-set, especially in the years since she was cast as Iris.

Here's a post from David Harewood (J'onn on Supergirl,) articulating why cries that "this isn't the way" to protest are disingenuous:

Azie Tesfai (Kelly on Supergirl) posted this the morning after Floyd's murder, drawing the lines between his killing and Amy Cooper's 911 call:

Mehcad Brooks (James from Supergirl) has been posting like a warrior, speaking truth and taking no prisoners. Here's one that he cross-posted from his Instagram:

A powerful image shared from China Anne McClain (Jen on Black Lightning):

Nafessa Williams (Anissa on Black Lightning) has been posting regularly, including sharing pictures of her at a protest. Here's her initial message about George Floyd's murder, cross-posted from her Instagram:


Land of the Free? For Who? How? When? Shit, I feel like we’re still slaves. There is absolutely no regard for our human lives. It’s taken me a min to post about this because I’m still not over #AhmaudAbery #BreonnaTaylor and every other brother AND sister who was murdered before them. To hear George call out for his mama before he took his last breath breaks my heart so deep. The confidence they possess while killing us and the insurance of white privilege makes me mad as hell. I don’t have any more hope in me at this point. At this point, I have anger and frustration in me. So, to all my ppl what are WE gonna do? Because Martin and Malcolm aren’t here anymore. We have to take care of us. We have to protect us. We want real freedom! My prayers and love to George’s mother and loved ones. We’re with you forever. 💪🏾✊🏾🕊 #GeorgeFloyd
A post shared by Nafessa Williams (@nafessawilliams) on

A lot of posts from Camrus Johnson (Luke on Batwoman) too, including pictures and videos from a protest he went to. Here's one commenting on Target's response to the looting/damage:

Edit: Meagan Tandy (Sophie on Batwoman) has been speaking out and sharing important posts. When I initially posted this, I missed her, which isn't cool. Here she is cautioning people not to let anyone change the narrative on the protests:

I've also seen retweets from Keiynan Lonsdale (Wally on The Flash,) Cress Williams (Jefferson on Black Lightning,) and Christine Adams (Lynn on Black Lightning.) Black cast members in the Arrowverse have been out in force, and they don't have time to waste. I thank all of you for your voices. No justice, no peace.
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