(AllHipHop News) DaBaby has been a frequent critic of police in Charlotte, North Carolina.
But last night (June 19th), DaBaby attempted to bridge the gap between himself, the local community, and the Charlotte Police.
DaBaby hosted a panel discussion with a variety of community activists and city officials called “Black Lives BEEN Mattered,” at the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African American Arts and Culture.
Throughout the evening, the discussion centered around police reform, systemic racism and the Black Lives Matter movement.
According to the Charlotte Observer, DaBaby brought out several political heavyweights for his panel discussion.
Mayor Vi Lyles, City Council member Braxton Winston, ex-Carolina Panther Thomas Davis, and even Mecklenburg County Sheriff Gary McFadden showed up for the dialog with the community.
WFAE reports that DaBaby’s panel discussion proved to be fruitful, especially since Sheriff Gary McFadden admitted he caused a “catastrophe” in front of the Mecklenburg County Jail the day before.
Sheriff McFadden was criticized for arresting 43 people associated with an organization called Charlotte Uprising, which had set up an aid station to give masks, water, and general aid to offenders who leave the jail.
The cops claimed they had received several complaints about the organization harassing passerbys and they ended up forcing the organizers out of the area in a tense standoff on Thursday (June 18th).
“We wanted that to be peaceful,” Sheriff McFadden said. “We didn’t bring riot sticks. We didn’t bring tear gas. We didn’t bring pepper balls. We simply thought that we were going to be able to move them to another location.”
Sheriff McFadden blamed the confrontation on a separate group of protesters who came to the scene after reading messages on social media.
At the end of the event, Thomas Davis donated $100,000 to a bailout fund being run by the local ACLU.
And, DaBaby offered to host an ongoing event to allow meaningful dialogue between local leaders and the community.