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Neil Young on BLM Protests: ‘My Black Brothers and Sisters Have Suffered Long Enough’

PITTSBURGH, PA - SEPTEMBER 16: Neil Young performs during 2017 Farm Aid on September 16, 2017 in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Matt Kincaid/Getty Images)

In a new opinion piece on his website, Neil Young says he thinks the U.S. will be a “better country” after protesters have left their mark and when President Trump is done “fanning the flames.”

The singer-songwriter, throughout the lengthy essay published on his website, writes of his support for the recent Black Lives Matter protests across the country and his expectations for the 2020 presidential race — including his hopes for Democratic candidate Joe Biden’s vice presidential candidate selection.

“As an old white guy, I don’t feel threatened by my black brothers,” Young writes. “I welcome him and his sisters. We have to deal with our white insecurities. I don’t feel any of those insecurities myself, (I have my own in other places). I will stand with my black brother. I want a better world for us all together. … My black brothers and sisters have suffered long enough.”

And after calling this time the “beginning of the end” for Trump, Young goes on to say Biden will bring compassion and empathy to the White House. While he hopes Biden chooses Stacey Abrams as his VP candidate, Young admits he’ll be fine with whoever he selects.

“We have a great future before us, not an easy one, a great one.”

In recent months following the coronavirus pandemic, Young has stayed busy. He’s been sharing his Fireside Session livestreams fairly frequently and also released a reworked version of “Southern Man.” Prior to the pandemic, Young had announced that he would be hitting the road in older arenas, but obviously that’s in question now.

Young’s piece can be read in its entirety here.