Amid the coronavirus pandemic hiatus, multiple Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton is actively advocating for racial injustice.
The Mercedes driver spoke out on his Instagram account on Monday in support of protesters who toppled the statue of a 17th-century slave trader in Bristol, England.
“All statues of racist individuals who made money selling human beings should be torn down!” Said Hamilton. “Who’s next?”.
Shortly after, he called on governments around the world to “make these changes” that people demand in mass protests “and peacefully remove these racist symbols.”
Hamilton also condemned the death of George Floyd, an African-American who was killed when a white Minneapolis police officer put his knee to his neck despite the fact that he was handcuffed and lying face down on the ground.
The pilot says he feels “a lot of anger, sadness and disbelief at what my eyes have seen.”
“Those of us who are black, brown or in the middle,” he added, “we see it every day and we should not feel that we were born guilty, that it is not our place, or fear for our lives because of the color of our skin.”
In his Instagram account, Hamilton criticized those involved in F1 who do not denounce racism. He said that they “are silent … in the midst of injustices.”
“Not a single sign of anyone in my activity, which, of course, is a sport dominated by whites,” said the runner, a six-time world champion. “I am the only person of color and I am alone.”
“I thought that by now they had seen why this happens and they would have said something about it, but they cannot support us. We are getting to know each other ”.
Charles Leclerc, from Ferrari, responded to that harangue by Hamilton saying that he felt “out of place, uncomfortable talking about what I think on social networks” and that that “was very wrong.”
Hamilton is the only African-born driver to have raced in F1 and in the past he has spoken of how he had to fight adversity to succeed in a sport he says is for privileged whites.
F1 could not start the season yet due to the coronavirus. The first race would take place on July 5 in Austria. AP (HN)