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WATCH: Eric Cantona recites Dear White Brother poem
9 June 2020, 12:46 | Updated: 9 June 2020, 12:54
Eric Cantona recites Dear White Brother poem
The former Man United footballer shared a video which saw him dramatically recite the Leopold Senghor poem about race and humanity.
Eric Cantona has shared a moving recital of a poem about race entitled Dear White Brother.
The football legend took to his official Instagram to share a video, which sees him perform to camera in English the poem, originally titled Cher frère blanc by Leopold Sengho - a Sénégalese poet and the 1st African president of the Republic of Sénégal.
Watch Cantona's rendition above.
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Read the English translation of Leopold Sengor's Dear White Brother below:
When I was born, I was black,
When I grew up, I was black,
When I am in the sun, I am black,
When I am sick, I am black,
When I die, I will be black.While you, white man,
When you were born, you were pink,
When you grew up, you were white,
When you go in the sun, you are red,
When you are cold, you are blue,
When you are scared, you are green,
When you are sick, you are yellow,
When you die, you will be grey.So, between you and me,
Who is the colored man?
READ MORE: Anaïs Gallagher shares photos from the Black Lives Matter protests
The former Man Utd footballer isn't the only celebrity to speak out on issues to do with racism and equality.
Last week saw Liam Gallagher share a host of photos that were supportive to the Black Lives Matter cause, as well as suggestions of ways to get involved.
WATCH: The Killers share moving Land of The Free performance
Meanwhile, Royal Blood shared a passionate statement about white privilege, which read: ""We have been described as 'two guys making a lot of noise' for nearly 6 years now, but the truth is we are two white males, adopting and basking in an entire genre of music that was created by black culture and black musicians.
"Our white privilege knows no bounds and has provided us every stepping stone of opportunity required along the way for a band like ours to get to the position we're currently in."
They added: "We must all educate ourselves further on social injustice and donate where we can! We refused to be silent on this matter and want to be a voice for change."
Meanwhile, last week Keith Kemon star Leigh Francis, the mind behind Bo' Selecta, also took to the platform to apologise for his "offensive" portrayals of black stars.
In the video he began: "Hi, my name's Leigh Francis, I play a character called Keith Lemon on television. It's been a weird few days. It's been a weird few days. I've sat and thought about things and what I could post to try and help things..."
He continued "Back in 2002 I did a show called Bo Selecta. I portrayed many black people. Back then I didn't think anything about it, people didn't say anything, I'm not going to blame other people.
"I've been talking to some people and I didn't realise how offensive it was back then."
See his apology here:
Keith Lemon apologises for offensive portrayal of black celebrities in Bo’ Selecta
If you would like to donate to or support the Black Lives Matter cause, here's some links you can visit below:
The official Black Lives Matter campaign
The George Floyd Memorial Fund
The Ahmaud Arbery Memorial Fund
The Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust
