Selena Gomez wants to use her platform to bring Black voices to a bigger audience.
Over the last two weeks, the singer has handed they keys to her Instagram account over to Black activists and community leaders to share their experiences and perspectives with her 180 million followers.
In a post on Thursday, Gomez thanked all 12 people who took part, writing, “I am blown away with your knowledge, eagerness to teach and commitment to ensuring Black voices are not silenced.”
“As much as one might want to believe things have gotten better we cannot deny any longer that they have not,” Gomez continued. “We need to acknowledge that social, political and economic discrimination against Black communities continues to exist. There is a deep pain that needs to be healed. Unless this is recognized history will continue to repeat itself over and over.”
She added, “This is just the beginning and we will continue to hear from other Black voices and as well as other marginalized communities I am committed to doing the work and I hope you join me.”
Guests on Gomez’s Instagram feed included, politician Stacey Abrams, Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza, writer Jelani Cobb, civil rights activist Ruby Bridges, historian Ibram X. Kendi and more.