January Jones posted a photo of her seven-year-old son with a protest sign on her Instagram grid, and vowed that she would do everything she can ‘to learn more’ as protests following George Floyd’s May 25 death continue.
January Jones and her seven-year-old son, Xander Dane Jones, joined in the fight against racial injustice on June 1, protesting police brutality after the May 25 death of unarmed Black man George Floyd. In a post that the Mad Men alum, 42, made to her Instagram grid, January captured her son holding a sign that said “I can’t breathe,” the final words spoken by George as he was pinned down by police, losing his life as a result of asphyxiation. “I promise that I will always continue to talk to my child about inequality. And I promise to do all I can to learn more,” January began the caption to her post.
“We have had many more of these necessary hard conversations over the last few days, about why people are so angry and sad. For a child who didn’t used to see color amongst his friends it’s hard for him to understand, to understand why the past he learns about in school is still very present in our world today,” she continued.
January shared with her one million followers that she wanted to “give [her son] an opportunity today to do a small neighborhood protest to support his friends and feel like he’s part of the progress that will hopefully happen.” The actress went on to encourage her fans and followers to “please vote in Nov. If you don’t vote for who is governing your city, state and country nothing will change.”
January’s post comes one day after an independent autopsy revealed that George Floyd died as a result of asphyxiation after former Officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee into George’s neck, pinning the unarmed Black man down to the pavement in Minneapolis, MN. The officer was arrested on May 29 and charged with third degree murder and manslaughter.
George’s death sparked outrage across the country, with heartbroken and frustrated citizens taking to major cities to stand in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. Stars like Halsey and Ariana Grande were spotted at protests in California, while Riverdale actor Cole Sprouse used his platform to not only shed light on his arrest for protesting in Santa Monica, but also to bring the focus back to the heart of the Black Lives Matter movement. On June 1, one week after George Floyd’s death, family attorney Ben Crump confirmed that George had died of “asphyxiation from sustained pressure.”