Kendrick Sampson talks social justice and protecting Black mental health

'Insecure' actor and activist Kendrick Sampson appeared on Black News Tonight with Marc Lamont Hill to talk about the Derek Chauvin murder trial and his work promoting mental wellness in the Black community.

Sampson has been among the many to call for defunding the police. He spoke to Hill about how George Floyd's death shaped his activism.

"Right now, I just want to make sure the message is getting out that no matter what happens with this trial--what it's highlighting is the need to bring about a new system," the actor said. "To really abolish the systems that we have because they can't be reformed."

He added that there's a PR campaign happening to separate police from the over-policing that happens nationwide. While other officers are taking the stand to condemn Chauvin's actions, it does not erase the problems that exist within the policing system. "I want people to understand that this is intentional that they are looking at Chauvin as the sacrificial lamb," he said.

Last summer, Sampson was shot with rubber bullets during a protest for George Floyd, to which he says he mentally has not "been able to heal" because of additional trauma and new struggles in his life.

In 2019, the justice advocate founded BLD PWR, a nonprofit working to dismantle racism in the entertainment industry and advocate for Black mental health access. Sampson is working on how to he and others can have "autonomy over [their] wellness."

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