Def Jam/Instagram
Rapper Meek Mill shared a revealing part of his past on Instagram Wednesday when he posted an image of his younger self with a swollen eye and bandages on his face. The MC, born Robert Williams, explained the injuries were caused by police brutality.
“It was ‘black cops’ that did me dirty!” he wrote. “And had me stripped of my freedom going on 11 years now! With 5 more years to go! Growing up in America as a young black kid in the ghetto is like suicide!”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BHhP9khhtiF/
The post was a response to police shooting and killing Alton Sterling, a 37-year-old Black man in Louisiana who had cops called on him because he was selling CDs outside of a convenience store. The incident was caught on camera by bystanders in a neighboring vehicle.
Meek shared the video of Sterling’s fatal shooting. He compared it to the way the police handled a white man who was disobeying police orders. In the clip, the man can be seen hitting both cops after another officer tased him without using excessive force.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BHg6afhhXth/?taken-by=meekmill
In a later post which captured fellow Def Jam rapper Fabolous’ thoughts on the incident, Meek explained he was found guilty of pointing a gun at officers during a raid which left him to serve “16 years of probation for being lied on and back and forth to jail under strict supervision.” He said the ordeal has made his life “a living hell.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BHhPaGPhXSp/?taken-by=meekmill
Meek followed up by posting a police report from his scuffle with police. He said he faced an assault charge “because the cop said I injured his hand! But my mugshot clearly says he injured his hand from punching me in my face.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BHhQokohaJf/?taken-by=meekmill
“They say I had a stand off with guns pointed at each other like a movie!!!!” he continued. “It’s almost baffling reading this police report!”
The document highlights the unbalanced actions by the justice system against Black individuals.
The Philadelphia native is not the only celebrity who has spoken out about Sterling’s death. Rapper Chuck D and singer-actress Zendaya have also reacted on social media.
IF anything THIS proves why the term #BlackLivesMatter is the CRYOUT to the rest of the Planet Earth from this United States Of America.
— Chuck D (@MrChuckD) July 6, 2016
How many more times must this happen for us to matter? How many more must we lose?
BLACK. LIVES. MATTER. #AltonSterling— Zendaya (@Zendaya) July 6, 2016
Grey’s Anatomy actor Jesse Williams posted a series of tweets sarcastically asking for a list of actions that can cause a person to be murdered by police.
1) In the interest of time, would ye noble patriots please provide a list of infractions punishable by spontaneous public execution? Thanks!
— jesse Williams. (@iJesseWilliams) July 6, 2016
2) Upon receipt of this list, we'll return to our quarters and study up, eager to enjoy freedoms of white mass murders. #LIFEHACK
— jesse Williams. (@iJesseWilliams) July 6, 2016
3) You chumps will NEVER provide this list… We see through you.
— jesse Williams. (@iJesseWilliams) July 6, 2016
