Black Veil Brides have shared a cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “American Skin (41 Shots)” on Friday (June 12).
“American Skin (41 Shots)” comes from Springsteen’s eighteenth studio album, High Hopes, a song originally inspired by the police shooting death of Amadou Diallo. Four officers shot a total of 41 shots at the unarmed Diallo, which resulted in his death. They later said that they mistaked Diallo as a rape suspect. All officers were charged with second degree murder and later acquitted during Trial. After a class-action lawsuit was filed against the officers, they settled at $3 million.
You can listen to the song HERE.
Read the band’s full statement on why they decided to release this cover below:
“American Skin (41 Shots) is a song originally written and performed by Bruce Springsteen inspired by the police shooting and death of a young black man named Amadou Diallo in New York City in the late 90’s. Tragically the subject matter of this song is as relevant today as it’s ever been and so we wanted to share with you our own rendition of this song and urge you to donate to support the movement for justice and anti racist organizations. While obviously a song alone will not be an inflection point for societal change, we as artists wanted to share something in support of this incredibly important time in history and direct you to organizations who are at the forefront of effecting real change and fighting against the systemic oppression and racism that the black community and poc face every single day. We are not interested in making any money from this song and instead we ask that if you enjoy it please consider donating to one of the many organizations that can be found here: Donate to the movement for justice and support anti-racist organizations Thank you for listening. #blacklivesmatter”
