The American public has experienced a particularly divisive political climate of late, with racist rhetoric rife on social media.
But the people are on hand to resist and a call to arms has seen thousands of people march and protest just hours after President Trump’s Inauguration.
Never one to shy away from speaking his mind, or the fight to achieve and maintain equality, Shia LaBoeuf has added his voice into the mix.
In conjunction with his ongoing art projects, Shia – the King of the livestream – and The Campaign Book have set up a four-year-long protest performance titled He Will Not Divide Us.
The premise is simple: Shia has set up a camera which will livestream from the front of the Museum of the Moving Image in New York. The live stream will continue for the duration of Trump’s presidency, inviting citizens to come and say their piece to camera.
The camera has already been graced by the likes of Jaden Smith, Will Smith’s 19-year-old son. It is hoped the work will champion unity and provide a public platform for spreading peaceful debate.
The importance of the work’s message reached new poignancy when its supporters encountered blatant racism and promotion of racial division on the streets of New York.
During the opening hours of the livestream, Shia took on a white supremacist man who was peddling his abhorrent message of white power through the peaceful project.
The unidentified man quoted the White Supremacy code ‘1488‘ before he could be heard saying:
We must ensure the existence of the white people…
The 30-year-old actor began to override the man’s racist rhetoric with screams of ‘he will not divide us’ which got louder and louder.
The visibly overwhelmed white supremacist, who was allegedly wearing a German WW2 era military cap, quickly fled the scene when Shia screamed directly into his ear.
The aggression displayed by Shia is indicative of the melting pot that is American politics at the present time, with passions ignited and voices raised.
The altercation has caused Twitter warriors’ temperatures to rise even higher as American socio-politics is permeated with this type of aggression from all angles.
You can watch the He Will Not Divide Us livestream for the next four years, courtesy of the magical mind of Shia LeBeouf.
A former emo kid who talks too much about 8Chan meme culture, the Kardashian Klan, and how her smartphone is probably killing her. Francesca is a Cardiff University Journalism Masters grad who has done words for BBC, ELLE, The Debrief, DAZED, an art magazine you’ve never heard of and a feminist zine which never went to print.