Jay Z has written an article for The New York Times, making a case for Meek Mill to be freed and accusing Philadelphia’s justice system of discriminately imprisoning black and brown individuals for parole violations.
This month, Meek Mill was sentenced for up to four years in prison for two parole violations in the past that were previously dismissed or dropped. Jay Z stopped his show in Dallas on his 4:44 tour, during which he said, “He caught a charge when he was, like, 19. He’s 30 now; he’s been on probation for 11 years. Fucking 11 years. Judge gave him two to four years because he got arrested for being on a bike and popping a fucking wheelie.”
Jay Z’s piece states that Mill’s situation is an example of how the “criminal justice system entraps and harasses hundreds of thousands of black people every day”. The message of his piece calls on readers to pressurise courts to release those who have been imprisoned for minor probation and parole violations.
The rapper writes, “Taxpayers in Philadelphia, Meek Mill’s hometown, will have to spend tens of thousands of dollars each year to keep him locked up, and I bet none of them would tell you his imprisonment is helping to keep them safer. He’s there because of arrests for a parole violation, and because a judge overruled recommendations by a prosecutor and his probation officer that he doesn’t deserve more jail time.”
Accusing the system of racial profiling, he says, “As of 2015, one-third of the 4.65 million Americans who were on some form of parole or probation were black. Black people are sent to prison for probation and parole violations at much higher rates than white people.” His piece links to the racial-justice organisation Color of Change.
Jay Z isn’t the only artist showing his support for Meek Mill. Upon seeing a fan with a ‘Free Meek Mill’ shirt at his Melbourne show, Drake said, “Free Meek Mill. You right.”
Read Jay Z’s full piece here.