--- description: The stars of the Martin Luther King, Jr. biopic protest Eric Garner's death title: 'Selma' Cast Wear 'I Can't Breathe' Shirts to New York Premiere image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0e7b8bdf67975b98/69876eaf2dce01170b9dc6e3/460481352.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [movies](/tag/movies/) ## movies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # _Selma_ Cast and Crew Wear 'I Can't Breathe' Shirts to New York Premiere  by [Eliana Dockterman](/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent Dec 15, 2014 3:31 PM CUT  (L to R) "Selma" actors E. Roger Mitchell, Wendell Pierce, Omar Dorsey, John Lavelle, Stephan James, Kent Faulcon, David Oyelowo, Lorraine Toussaint, director Ava DuVernay, Tessa Thompson, Andre Holland, and Colman Domingo wear "I Can't Breathe" t-shirts to protest the death of Eric Garner at the New York Public Library on December 14, 2014 in New York City (L to R) "Selma" actors E. Roger Mitchell, Wendell Pierce, Omar Dorsey, John Lavelle, Stephan James, Kent Faulcon, David Oyelowo, Lorraine Toussaint, director Ava DuVernay, Tessa Thompson, Andre Holland, and Colman Domingo wear "I Can't Breathe" t-shirts to protest the death of Eric Garner at the New York Public Library on December 14, 2014 in New York CityRay Tamarra—GC Images  by [Eliana Dockterman](/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent Dec 15, 2014 3:31 PM CUT The cast and crew of _Selma —_ a film about Martin Luther King, Jr. and the civil rights marches in Selma, Alabama — wore “I Can’t Breathe” t-shirts before the New York City premiere of their film on Sunday night to protest the death of Eric Garner. Golden Globe-nominated director Ava DuVernay stood on the steps of the New York Public Library in the “Hands up, don’t shoot” pose with cast members including star David Oyelowo. The red carpet statement came one day after an estimated 25,000 people gathered in New York at the Millions March to protest the deaths of Eric Garner and Michael Brown, unarmed black men who were both killed by white police officers this year. In video footage of Garner’s death, he repeats “I can’t breathe” while in a chokehold. At the premiere, Oyelowo drew comparisons between the Selma march and the current protests. “Thankfully, we’re seeing a lot of the same good sides of protests happening with these protests — i.e., that they are nonviolent, and that we are now seeing black and white and everything in between coming together against injustice,” he told _The Hollywood Reporter_. “I think that the next step for us to be able to really articulate our demands. What is it we want out of this? In Selma, it was voting rights, and now it’s police reform.” “The lesson of the movie is strategy,” added Oprah Winfrey, who both starred in and produced the film. “Strategic planning, rigorous discipline, peaceful protest, and knowing what you want.” **MORE:** [_Selma_ and the Dream Worker](http://time.com/3596996/review-selma/ "undefined")  Actor Wendell Pierce attends the 'Selma' New York Premiere at Ziegfeld Theater on December 14, 2014 in New York City Noam Galai _Selma_ actor Wendell Pierce, best known for his role on _The Wire_, took his protest a step further. He spent four hours at the Millions March on Saturday before walking the red carpet for the film in his “I Can’t Breathe” shirt. His _Wire_ co-star Michael Kenneth Williams, who is currently promoting _The Gambler_, also donned the shirt on the red carpet. Though the _Selma_ actors are the first celebrities to wear the “I Can’t Breathe” t-shirts on the red carpet, several sports stars including [LeBron James](http://time.com/3624684/lebron-james-i-cant-breathe-eric-garner/ "undefined"), [Kobe Bryant](http://ftw.usatoday.com/2014/12/kobe-bryant-lakers-i-cant-breathe-shirts-kings "undefined") and [Derrick Rose](http://time.com/3622365/derrick-rose-cant-breathe-eric-garner-shirt-warmups-chicago-bulls/ "undefined") have worn the shirts during warmups before NBA games. **MORE:** [NBA Won’t Fine Players for Wearing ‘I Can’t Breathe’ T-Shirts](http://time.com/3625599/nba-players-i-cant-breathe-shirts/ "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3633484/selma-movie-i-cant-breathe-shirts/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3633484/selma-movie-i-cant-breathe-shirts/"},"headline":"Selma Cast and Crew Wear 'I Can't Breathe' Shirts to New York Premiere","datePublished":"2014-12-15T15:31:27.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:06:41.332Z","description":"The stars of the Martin Luther King, Jr. biopic protested Eric Garner's death","url":"https://time.com/3633484/selma-movie-i-cant-breathe-shirts/","keywords":["movies"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0e7b8bdf67975b98/69876eaf2dce01170b9dc6e3/460481352.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eliana Dockterman","jobTitle":"Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0e7b8bdf67975b98/69876eaf2dce01170b9dc6e3/460481352.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Celebrity Sightings In New York City - December 14, 2014","caption":"Celebrity Sightings In New York City - December 14, 2014","creditText":"Ray Tamarra—GC Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3633484/selma-movie-i-cant-breathe-shirts/","name":"Selma Cast and Crew Wear 'I Can't Breathe' Shirts to New York Premiere"}}]}] ```