Keke Palmer Pushes For Revolution, Says ‘We Are Now Being Called To Challenge The Rules’

Keke Palmer isn’t done pushing for change. In an essay published in Variety on Tuesday, the actress wrote that she feels like she’s been waiting for a revolution her entire life.

Palmer is one of many celebrities who have taken to the streets in protest in recent days following the death of George Floyd while he was in police custody.

“I like following rules and doing what I’m told. As a kid, these rules stick with you. But even at a young age, I was taught to question the things that didn’t feel right to me,” she wrote at the beginning of her column.

Palmer continued, saying that going against authority was sometimes the only way to make a change, especially when authority figures are the ones seen stepping over the line. The Hustlers actress also discussed the now-viral video of her pleading with members of the National Guard to join their march. The officers declined to join the protest, and instead took a knee.

In her column, Palmer said that she had hoped that National Guard members, who were keeping the protesters from marching in a certain direction in Los Angeles, would be able to march with them without facing punishment. She said that, if they had chosen to march, it would have had an enormous impact on the movement.

Instead, they largely remained at their posts, and while they did kneel, Palmer said that wasn’t enough for her.

Watch all of this. pic.twitter.com/YHq0QhXrnw

— Gadi Schwartz (@GadiNBC) June 2, 2020

“Kneeling on George Floyd’s neck is what killed him. Now we see police officers kneeling and then, moments later, attacking peaceful protesters. At this point, the kneeling has no meaning,” she wrote.

Palmer continued the essay by saying that, in the wake of Floyd’s death, a revolution is needed to reform American institutions. She admitted that she has been waiting for a revolution her entire life, adding that she knows many millennials feel that way. The actress opined that calls to stand in line have evolved into calls to stand up.

Palmer said that everything that her generation had been through was leading to this moment — one where the systems that exist in American life can be replaced by something else. She expressed hopes that the new system will be fairer, and more representative of the people it claims to be representing.

She acknowledged that radical change can be scary, but said that her generation was born for this and that following the rules was no longer enough.

“We are now being called to challenge the rules and to challenge the character of those making them,” she concluded.