The Maccabeats write a song in memory of George Floyd

“Our singing a song about George Floyd is our way of saying his name, we thought that was obvious,” one band member said.

JUNE 15, 2020 04:54

The Maccabeats 521 (photo credit: Courtesy) — The Maccabeats 521

(photo credit: Courtesy)

Jewish a cappella group The Maccabeats wrote a song in memory of George Floyd called "Say Your Name." The band told Kveller that the song was composed in three days is meant as a sign of mourning for Floyd.

"Mourning the loss of a single life, which Jewish tradition teaches us, is like the loss of an entire world," Julian Horowitz, one of the members of the band, told Kveller. "But also mourning the shameful conditions which allowed this to happen, and mourning the losses of so many others under similar circumstances.”

We wrote a song about George Floyd. But it ended up being about George Floyd and so much more. We cry for you, and we know this has to change. https://t.co/qJMq4vfdMS
— Maccabeats (@Maccabeats) June 9, 2020

“Our singing a song about George Floyd is our way of saying his name, we thought that was obvious,” Horowitz added.

The video is the first time the band has taken a political stance on any issue, according to Kveller. While most comments on the band's YouTube page have been positive, others claim their defense of Floyd is misplaced and one wondered why did they not do the same for Jewish causes.

Protests erupted following the death of George Floyd, an African American man who died after a white police officer pinned his knee against his neck.