Michael Londra is one of the one of the most recognised voices in Irish music, touring the globe sharing his incredible voice with fans.
The Wexford, Ireland native performed with Riverdance and earned two Emmy-nominations for his show Beyond Celtic. Now, he is taking his influential role in the music and theatre scene to help others and encourage understanding and compassion. Recently, Michael came across a video which displayed a beautiful moment of solidarity between police offers and community leaders at a local community center in Lincoln, Nebraska.
The group met at the location for a special service in honor of George Floyd, the African American man who was killed while in police custody in Minneapolis. His senseless death, caught on video, shocked the world and led to protests across the United States and world.
The video took place in Lincoln, Nebraska, a city where Londra’s latest show, Celtic Fire, plans to perform to a sold-out crowd in March 2021, one year after its original scheduled date was cancelled due to Covid-19.
Seeing the cooperation between the police and protesters was heartwarming. “The Police and the protestors were dancin’ up a storm, “ said Londra. And, he loved what he saw on the video which inspired him to get involved.
The video was developed as part of the "Hold Cops Accountable" initiative; a program launched to join community leaders together with law enforcement. The ultimate goal of the program is to seek an end to abuse and excessive force in policing policies.
"What happened to George Floyd was wrong," Lincoln Police Department chief Jeff Bliemeister told the Lincoln Journal-Star. "Black lives matter and they haven't mattered and they need to," Chief Bliemeister shared on a recent interview with KOLN News. "We want that accountability. We all want that throughout our career, beginning with me."
As a sign of this solidarity, participants from both sides of the fence joined together to lead supporters in the “Cupid Shuffle.”
Loving the positivity, Londra immediately reached out to the venue, where his show will perform on St. Patrick's Day 2021.
He hopes to bring together the same community leaders and police officers to see Celtic Fire and to invite them onstage to learn some basic Irish Dancing steps; just in time for St. Patrick's Day 2021 festivities.
Londra believes that theatre always brings people together, and he hopes this St. Patrick's Day gesture will further strengthen the relationship between Law Enforcement and the local community.
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