Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively have donated $200,000 to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.

The showbiz power couple have pledged the sum to the organisation - a leading US legal firm fighting for racial justice - following the death of unarmed black man George Floyd in Minnesota last week, which has led to protests across the US.

Policeman Derek Chauvin was shown in footage kneeling on the 46-year-old man's neck, and the officer has since been arrested on charges of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter, and sacked from the force.

Ryan and Blake - who have children James, five, and three-year-old Inez - shared a joint statement on Instagram, which read: ''We've never had to worry about preparing our kids for different rules of law or what might happen if we're pulled over in the car.

''We don't know what it's like to experience that life day in and day out.

''We can't imagine feeling that kind of fear and anger.

''We're ashamed that in the past we've allowed ourselves to be uninformed about how deeply rooted systemic racism is.

''We've been teaching our children differntly than the way our parents taught us.

''We want to educate ourselves about other people's experiences and talk to our kids about everything, all of it... especially our own complicity.

''We talk about our bias, blindness and our mistakes. We look back and see so many mistakes which have led us to deeply examine who we are and who we want to become. They've led us to huge avenues of education.

''We are committed to raising our kids so they never grow up feeding this insane pattern and so they'll do their best to never inflict pain on another being consciously or unconsciously,'' she continued. ''It's the least we can do to honor not just George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and Eric Garner, but all the black men and women who have been killed when a camera wasn't rolling. (sic)''

The couple also vowed to use their platform ''to be an ally''.

They added: ''Last week we contributed $200,000 to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. We stand in awe of this organization and its leader, Sherrilyn Ifill. And this is just a start. We also pledge to stay educated and vote in every local election.

''We want to know the positions of school board nominees, sheriffs, mayors, councilpersons. We want to know their positions on justice. But mainly, we want to use our privilege and platform to be an ally. And to play a part in easing pain for so many who feel as though this grand experiment is failing them. (sic)''