Janet Jackson revives 'Pledge' interlude lyrics to back Black Lives Matter

Janet Jackson has posted lyrics from an interlude featured on her 1989 album to throw her support behind Black Lives Matter.

The pop star sent a Tweet on Sunday (June 7) in which a snippet of the opening track from ‘Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814’ – titled ‘Interlude: Pledge’ – is played while a list emerges of the names of dozens of black citizens who’ve died as a result of police brutality.

The song contains the spoken-word passage: “We are a nation with no geographic boundaries, bound together through our beliefs / We are like-minded individuals, sharing a common vision, pushing toward a world rid of colour lines“.

The clip ends with the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter fading into view.

Jackson has been active on social media since George Floyd, an unarmed black man, died in police custody on May 25.

On Friday (June 5) she shared a #SayHerName post on what would have been the 27th birthday of Breonna Taylor. Taylor was an emergency medical technician who was fatally shot eight times by Louisville police in March after they stormed her apartment on a “no-knock warrant”.

She also called out New York City resident Amy Cooper, a white woman who called the police claiming an “African-American” was threatening her after he asked her to put her dog a leash while in a public park.

“This is why we grow invisible antennae and why our children do, as well,” Jackson wrote. “These type of people send off signals when you merely pass them on a sidewalk. And, they pass by on sidewalks almost everywhere.”







In other news, earlier this year Jackson announced her comeback after a five-year hiatus with new album ‘Black Diamond’ slated for release later in 2020.