Anne Hathaway calls out white privilege in post about murder of Nia Wilson

Ms Wilson was killed, seemingly without provocation, after exiting a train in Oakland ( AP )

Anne Hathaway has weighed in on the murder of Nia Wilson - a black teenager stabbed to death last week - and has called for white people to check their privilege and understand the violence and oppression that still faces people of colour in America.

Ms Wilson, 18, was killed last weekend at a transit station in Oakland, California by a white man who allegedly approached her and others and stabbed her in the neck. Reports indicate that the man had suddenly approached her and there appeared to be no provocation.

“The murder of Nia Wilson - may she rest in the power and peace she was denied here - is unspeakable AND MUST NOT be met with silence. She is not a hashtag; she was a black woman and she was murdered in cold blood by a white man,” Hathaway wrote in an Instagram post.

She continued: “White people- including me, including you- must take into the marrow of our privileged bones the truth that ALL black people fear for their lives DAILY in America and have done so for GENERATIONS. White people DO NOT have equivalence for this fear of violence. Given those givens, we must ask our (white)selves - how “decent” are we really? Not in our intent, but in our actions? In our lack of action? Peace and prayers and JUSTICE for Nia and the Wilson family”.

John Lee Cowell, a 27-year-old white man with a criminal record and history of mental illness, has been charged with murdering Ms Wilson, and with attempted murder of her sister, Lahtifa Wilson, who was also stabbed but survived.

In a report from the New York Times, Ms Wilson was described as a positive and outgoing young woman, who was deciding between several different futures — she considered joining the US military, she considered becoming a paramedic, and she considered the possibility that a music producer would one day see her rap videos she posted on YouTube and boost her to fame.

 

The murder of Nia Wilson- may she rest in the power and peace she was denied here- is unspeakable AND MUST NOT be met with silence. She is not a hash tag; she was a black woman and she was murdered in cold blood by a white man. White people- including me, including you- must take into the marrow of our privileged bones the truth that ALL black people fear for their lives DAILY in America and have done so for GENERATIONS. White people DO NOT have equivalence for this fear of violence. Given those givens, we must ask our (white)selves- how “decent” are we really? Not in our intent, but in our actions? In our lack of action? Peace and prayers and JUSTICE for Nia and the Wilson family xx Note: the comments for this post are closed. #blacklivesmatter #antiracist #noexcuse #sayhername #earntherighttosayhername

A post shared by Anne Hathaway (@annehathaway) on Jul 25, 2018 at 10:44am PDT

Mr Cowell has been described as a homeless man with a lengthy criminal record by the Bay Area Rapid Transit police, and he was arrested nearly 24 hours after the murder following a manhunt. His family had released a statement saying that he had been diagnosed previously with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, and that he had not received proper treatment for those illnesses.