Eric Garner was placed in a choke hold by NYPD officers on July 17, 2014. He subsequently died after having trouble breathing. His death has caused outrage across the country as the subject of police brutality continues to bristle.
In response to Garner’s death, at least 100 technicians, directors, stars, designers and choreographers from Broadway appeared in front of the Times Square precinct to let the police know their thoughts.
The video is a flash mob, or at least a low-key one, that shows one man in the forefront rapping about their response to Garner’s death. He is surrounded by the hundreds of Broadway members who are pounding their chests and humming a tune.
This is an incredibly powerful video. One of the most poignant lyrics from the song goes as follows:
“Let’s discuss this. Put it to rest because this needs to get off our chest. That our mouths, be are muskets. Words, they are bullets, not to be fussed with. This is how we shoot back. With this assembly, we aspire to provoke not riot, but conversation.”
These lyrics open the song and also end the song, that is how important they are to those who took part in the performance. Leave your thoughts in our comments section at the bottom of this post.