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Watch St. Vincent in conversation with Jessica Byrd about the Movement For Black Lives.

Watch St. Vincent in conversation with Jessica Byrd about the Movement For Black Lives.

St Vincent recently hosted a conversation with activist Jessica Byrd (a founder of Three Point Strategies and a leader in the Movement For Black Lives) in which they discussed defunding the police, how we can all help fight institutional racism, the importance of giving up your privilege and interrogating the cracks in your own empathy, and how the outrage over George Floyd's death was "only acceptable when it was managed in a way that kept people as comfortable as possible" but that society didn't view it "worthwhile for people to be in the streets publicly mourning; blocking off traffic and making people uncomfortable".

Byrd also asked St. Vincent - real name Annie Clark - what responsibility she believed the music industry had right now: "The music industry, like all areas of capitalist commerce, has also been a massive perpetrator of taking advantage of black people through the years... I, as an artist with some type of platform, want to give a voice to you, for example, [people] who are experts in their field and know what the fuck they’re talking about and can share some wisdom and nuance."

Clark also drily acknowledged the music industry's effort for finally putting "their money where their black square was".

Watch the full conversation below:

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