Supremes’ Mary Wilson: Police Violence Won’t ‘Change Overnight’
Former Supremes vocalist Mary Wilson told TMZ that race relations with law enforcement won’t improve overnight. “It’s one of those things where it takes time for things to evolve,” she said. “Things don’t change over night … things are bad before [they] get better.”
The singer made these remarks following the police killings of Philandro Castile, Alton Sterling and the Dallas sniper attack that killed and injured 12 police officers. “I think we all need to pray for peace and happiness,” she said.
“Back in the Motown days, we were not even citizens,” she continued. “It does not even compare. Except we didn’t have the violence. We really didn’t. You know why? Because we, as black people, knew our place. So it wasn’t your Martin Luther King, civil rights, all that stuff where things started changing and we started standing up for the rights. It was a different platform.”
Other performers have responded to the Dallas attacks. Beyoncé penned a poignant Instagram post dedicated to the killed and injured officers. “Rest in peace to the officers whose lives were senselessly taken yesterday in Dallas,” the singer wrote. “I am praying for a full recovery of the seven others injured. No violence will create peace. Every human life is valuable. We must be the solution. Every human being has the right to gather in peaceful protest without suffering more unnecessary violence.”