Meek Mill recently received an incredibly huge honor.
On Thursday, it was announced that March 14 was “Meek Mill Day” in his hometown of Philadelphia, and March 15-17 will be “Meek Mill Weekend” statewide.
Meek Mill was honored with his own weekend in his hometown of Philadelphia. (Photo: @meekmill Instagram)
The honor was announced by City Council President Darrell Clarke at City Hall, and its to not only recognize Mill’s contributions in music but the work he’s done with criminal justice reform after he left prison in April 2018.
State Senator Sharif Street and City Councilman Kenyatta Johnson were also present for the announcement, as was Mill’s 7-year-old son Papi.
“The one time that my City of Philadelphia showed me support was the one time I came out of prison, and I want to show the support back and do it for the people that actually stood up for me,” he said during the presentation. “It means a lot.”
Mill was placed on probation in 2008 after being booked on drug and gun charges, and he’s still on probation to this day, which has sparked a national debate on the fairness surrounding probation and parole laws.
In January, Mill, Jay-Z, CNN’s Van Jones, the owner of the New England Patriots Robert Kraft, the co-owner of the Philadelphia 76ers Michael Rubin and others formed an organization called The Reform Alliance that will focus on criminal justice reform.
The group said they want to decrease probation and parole for one million people over the next five years.
Also in January, Republicans and Democrats teamed up and launched a new bill that shifted Pennsylvania‘s probation and parole laws, which was inspired by Mill’s circumstances.
The bill is called Senate Bill 14 and now anyone convicted of a felony can no longer be on probation for more than five years and people with a misdemeanor charge three years.
After “Meek Mill Weekend” was announced, the rapper spoke to the media and talked about The Reform Alliance and what he’s been through.
“Our foundation is focusing on probation and parole,” he explained. “That was the biggest obstacle that always stopped me in my life. You have kids that might make a mistake and get on probation. Smoke a joint and you might end up in the penitentiary for three years getting raised by a felon.”
“[This honor] is not a call-out for people to do crimes and not go to jail,” added Mill. “This is a call-out for people to get a fair chance, and that’s what I’m here fighting for.”
Philadelphia officially declared March 15-17 “Meek Mill Weekend.” @MeekMill said it’s not about him, it’s about bringing attention to the ills of our criminal justice system. Full story: https://t.co/sMG6LMTSBF pic.twitter.com/c3JHndGWJr
— Brandon T. Harden (@brandontrevion) March 14, 2019
