Tom Morello has teamed up with Brave New Pictures in releasing a short film called ‘No Justice, No Peace.’
Morello’s song ‘Marching on Ferguson’ is used as the only track for the new short film. The film was released on what would have been George Floyd’s 47th birthday, October 14th.
‘No Justice, No Peace’ begins with footage of George Floyd’s death. It is followed up by images of protests and news clips surrounding the deaths of Breonna Taylor, Oscar Grant, Eric Garner and many more.
The short film aims to highlight the social and racial inequalities that exist in America and how the Trump administration handles them.
In a statement, Morello said “For too long, people of color have been told when, how and how loud we should use our voices. Silence hasn’t been enough to protect us. Breonna Taylor was silently sleeping when she was murdered. Quiet pleas have not worked. George Floyd pled faintly with the cops as they kneeled on his back until his last breath. This summer, once again, we raised our voices in protest, and the world took notice.”
Morello went on to add “We will not be told to maintain hushed tones about anger, pain and discontent with the status quo. This song and this film are a middle finger to the silence that ‘polite society’ has asked of people in pain. From the streets to the ballot boxes, we will make our voices heard.”
The film ends with the tagline ‘Vote like your life depends on it’. Brave New Films who released the three and a half minute short film have also started the Brave New Action Fund. This fund has been developed to champion social justice issues through the use of media, education and grass root volunteers. For more information on this new fund, click here.
George Floyd died on May 26th following an altercation with Police. His death led to hundreds of demonstrations around the world and inspired the Black Lives Matter movement. Derek Chauvin, the police officer charged with Floyd’s death was released from prison this month after posting the 1 million dollar bail (€853,475). Chauvin faces a second degree murder charge over Floyd’s death. He was initially charged with third degree murder and manslaughter.
You can watch ‘No Justice, No Peace’ below.
In a recent interview, Morello was asked “Would you say, in some sense, that Rage Against the Machine predicted all this(Donald Trump’s Presidency)?” to which Morello jokingly said “I would say that we are karmically entirely responsible, and my apologies.”
In Rage Against The Machine’s 1999 video for ‘Sleep Now in the Fire’ a person is seen holding a placard saying ‘Donald Trump for President.’
Tom Morello is releasing a hardback photo memoir entitled ‘Tom Morello: Whatever it Takes’. It will feature his political activism and the work he has done with his bands Rage Against The Machine, Audioslave, Prophets of Rage and The Nightwatchmen. The new book is due for release on October 27th.
