Viola Davis took to Instagram on Sunday (August 27th) to comment on the racially motivated shooting at a Dollar General in Jacksonville, Florida, during which a white gunman killed three Black people. The shooting happened on Saturday (August 26th), just days before the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington.
“We have a very, very big problem. And unless we admit we have one and excavate the root of it, we can expect more of the above,” the How to Get Away with Murder actress wrote alongside a video of the Jacksonville Sheriff speaking about the shooting.
“And please DO NOT say this is an isolated incident!!! It is the equivalent of saying ‘Slavery was beneficial to us because it taught us skills’ or ‘We need guns to protect us from…’ or Amanda Gorman's inaugural speech is divisive!!” Davis continued, referring in part to Florida’s new Black history curriculum.
The EGOT winner added, “It's all being born from the same diseased cell called RACISM…..Well…we need to call it out and destroy it and replace it with a system of Justice or it will CONTINUE to destroy us.”