Little Mix’s Leigh-Anne Pinnock Discusses Her Experience with Racism

In a touching 5-minute video shared on Instagram, the British singer began by sending her condolences to the family of George Floyd. She proceeded to share her personal experiences with racism as the only Black woman in her music group.

In this video, Pinnock read powerful words from a letter she wrote earlier. As the artist explains, speaking about her experiences surrounding race and racism often upsets her, leaving her unable to “say everything [she wants] to say.”

“Since then I’ve tried to use my platform to raise awareness of matters such as racism. At this moment I feel for the first time in my life racism is a topic conversation. We have the world’s attention. We cannot see this as a moment — this has to be a movement until the system designed to oppress us is no more, and we are seen as equals to our white counterparts.” reads Leigh-Anne.

Pinnock goes on to explain that her parents are mixed-race and that both of her grandfathers moved to England and were romantically involved with white women at a time when interracial relationships were uncommon.

“Growing up, me and my sisters never saw race being a limitation on what we wanted to achieve,” she says. “Because if our grandparents could raise mixed-race children in the ‘60s, we could do anything. One thing we were doing was sleeping on racism. Too often, black people are reminded how far we have come, as opposed to how far we can go. In doing this, we sleep on racism. Think about it: do you ever hear white people having to be thankful for how far they’ve come as a race? There comes a point in every black human’s life no matter how much money you have or what you have achieved, you realize racism does not exclude you.”

The singer then explains the “awakening” she experienced after joining Little Mix.

“When we were filming ‘Wings,’ we worked with [black director and choreographer] Frank Gatson. He said to me, ‘You’re the black girl. You have to work 10 times harder.’ Never in my life has someone told me that I would need to work harder because of my race. Later on, what Frank Gatson said made sense.”

Following her story on her experiences surrounding race, Pinnock closed her message by reminding her fans to continue pushing for equality and justice for the black community.

Pinnock’s hard work has not gone unnoticed and her voice will not go unheard. The artist’s transparency and openness discussing her experiences surrounding race both inside and outside of the music industry is truly commendable. Never forget, Black is beautiful.