As waves of protests continue to grow around the country, many celebrities have began using their platforms as a means to make their own voices heard. Various NBA players including Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, Kyrie Irving and more have recently been seen wearing “I Can’t Breathe” shirts in support of Eric Garner, who died as a result of an illegal chokehold at the hands of the NYPD.
Well known for showing his hometown love, Jay Z recently came under fire as some took to Social Media to question why he hasn’t been more vocal during the current turmoil surrounding the Garner verdict. What many failed to realize however, is that Hov has been instrumental in providing funding to Ferguson protesters as well as paying the tuition of Sean Bell’s children, who was killed by the NYPD in 2006; as was revealed recently in a DailyKos.com article.
Once again moving under the radar, the Brooklyn emcee met with New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo in an effort to advocate for a reform of the social justice system.
According to Cuomo’s Director of Communications Melissa DeRosa:
“Governor Cuomo and Shawn ‘Jay Z’ Csarter had a productive conversation about doing a top to bottom review of the Criminal Justice system and how we can all work together to pass a reform package that ensures equality in the eyes of the law.”
