Everyone should watch Leigh-Anne Pinnock’s video about racism

Little Mix singer Leigh-Anne Pinnock has shared a heartfelt and emotional video in a bid to raise awareness about the Black Lives Matter movement. In the video, the singer opens up about her own personal experiences that were triggered due to her race. She explained that she has often felt like the least loved member of her band and how she would have to work ten times harder than her fellow bandmates.

She shared, "Nine years ago, after joining Little Mix, I had the biggest awakening of my life. When we were filming ‘Wings’, we worked with [choreographer] Frank Gatson. He said to me, ‘You’re the black girl, you have to work 10 times harder.’ Never in my life had someone told me I would need to work harder because of my race.”

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Leigh-Anne Pinnock (@leighannepinnock) on

Leigh-Anne continued, "I learned that the dream of being in the biggest girl band in the world came with its flaws and consequences. Consequences such as knowing about the existent underlined racism in the creative industries. You learn to understand you can’t be seen to be too loud or too opinionated otherwise you’re deemed a diva or aggressive. You learn that by walking into a room you are deemed unapproachable or offish before anyone has even approached you. You learn that by voicing your opinion about the lack of diversity within the industry is like smashing your head against a brick wall.”

Despite being a member of one of the world's biggest girl bands, she revealed that she never felt as loved as her fellow members, "I sang to fans who don’t see me or hear me or cheer me on. My reality is feeling anxious before fan events and signings because I always feel like I’m the least favoured. My reality is constantly feeling like I have to work 10 times harder and longer to make my case in the group, because my talent alone isn’t enough."

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Leigh-Anne Pinnock (@leighannepinnock) on

Alongside the touching video, Leigh-Anne shared, "More than ever I felt like it was time that I was completely open and honest with you all because finally, the world is awake and people want to listen, help and understand. I'm not doing this video for sympathy or for you to watch and then go about normal life. I'm doing it because enough is enough and hopefully from sharing this we can all do more to understand the racism that takes place.

"In doing this we are able to approach the bigger issue and break down systemic racism. All we want is equality and justice for our black community."

Click here for ways to support the Black Lives Matter movement.

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