Photos + Video: Alicia Keys Holds #BringBackOurGirls Protest In New York To Mark Son’s Birthday
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Six months on and more than 200 kidnapped Nigerian schoolgirls are still
missing. Many Nigerians and even the rest of the world who trended the
hashtag #BringBackOurGirls several months ago, have all moved on and
perhaps, forgotten that over 200 innocent lives are still being held
captive by terrorists.Grammy Award winning singer and activist Alicia
Keys, held a protest in New York City on Tuesday to raise awareness
about the 200-plus Nigerian schoolgirls who were kidnapped by Boko Haram
militants in April. More…
Tuesday marked six months since the girls were
abducted. Keys kicked off a protest with 30 others at the consulate
general of Nigeria, holding signs that read “We Are Here” and “Safe
Schools Now!”They chanted “Bring back our girls” and “When do we want
them? Now! Now! Alive!” as New Yorkers walked up the street during lunch
hour, while others stopped to capture photos and video.Keys, who is
pregnant, said in an interview that she felt touched to take action
because she is a mother. Her son, Egypt, turned 4 on Tuesday.“Today is
my son’s birthday and it is also making me stand in solidarity with all
the mothers of the Chibok girls who have been abducted for six months
and are still missing. And it is just outrageous that that’s going on,”
the 33-year-old said as others chanted behind her.Keys recently launched
the movement “We Are Here,” which fights for social justice. She also
recorded and released a song with the same name.She was joined by her
husband, producer-rapper Swizz Beatz. She said people need a reminder
that the schoolgirls are still missing.“Some people have even told me
they’ve heard things about ‘there’s been progress,’ but there hasn’t
been progress because the girls aren’t back,” Keys said. “So I think
that we get mixed information. We don’t know, so we just have to keep
being made aware of what’s happening.”
She also took to her Instagram page and wrote:
“She captioned on Instagram “On my lil guys birthday I stand with the
mothers of Chibok!! We can’t ignore 6 months of this tragedy!! What if
it was you or me? I want to remind you that in this darkness, your voice
matters! #BringBackOurGirlsNOW!! Let’s do something about this.”
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