May 25, 2021, marked one year since George Floyd was murdered by then-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. In the wake of Floyd’s death, millions of people across the globe took part in #BlackLivesMatter demonstrations.
Lil Baby took to the streets too. The Atlanta native was also one of the most high-profile rappers to release a song addressing the state of the country after Chauvin was filmed pressing his knee into Floyd’s neck for over nine minutes.
“The Bigger Picture” was heralded as an instant classic. The record peaked at #3 on the Hot 100 chart. Plus, Lil Baby’s protest anthem earned Grammy nominations for Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song.
Members of George Floyd’s family and their legal representatives were invited to the White House on Tuesday to speak with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. Lil Baby was also in attendance at that meeting in Washington, DC.
This is not the first interaction involving George Floyd’s family and Lil Baby. Last December, the My Turn album creator teamed with former NBA player Stephen Jackson to throw a surprise birthday party for Floyd’s surviving daughter Gianna.
Following his White House appearance, Lil Baby posted two photos with Kamala Harris to his Instagram page. The IG caption read, “Big shoutout to @vp for taking the time out [of] her busy day to sit with me [and] have an open discussion! #wegottastartsomewhere.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CPV1QCdHcJv/
Lil Baby did not specify exactly what he and Harris discussed, but multiple reports suggest the Floyd family talked to Biden about passing the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. The proposed legislation is a police reform bill that includes setting up a federal registry of police misconduct complaints, restricting qualified immunity, and other provisions.
The George Floyd Policing Act passed the Democratic-controlled U.S. House of Representatives in 2020 on a mostly party-line vote of 236–181. It was again passed in the House in March 2021 [220 to 112] without any Republican support. The United States Senate has yet to pass any police reform legislation since Floyd’s murder.
“We’re just thankful for what’s going on and we just want the George Floyd Policing Act to be passed,” Philonese Floyd told reporters. “If you can make federal laws to protect the bird, which is the bald eagle, you can make federal laws to protect people of color.”
Following the family’s sit down the POTUS, George Floyd’s nephew Brandon Williams said, “[Joe Biden] did let us know that he supports passing the bill, but he wants to make sure that it’s the right bill and not a rushed bill.”