Words by Comfort Nnana Kalu
Reverend Al Sharpton has taken an interest in Meek Mill’s case, and has announced plans to visit Meek Mill in prison on Monday. Sharpton will meet with Meek Mill in Pennsylvania where he has been sentenced to two to four years in jail.
“I think this is about an injustice that is representative of many young men of color that face an abuse of a probation or parole system,” said Sharpton at the Harlem headquarters of the National Action Network Saturday. “This is not about an artist. This is about a system.”
Sharpton believes that Meek’s case is an example of the issue of mass incarceration that has affected black men throughout history. “I think what’s happening with Meek Mill is something that the National Action Network has always fought, and I hope that me going there is going to raise the pressure on the issue and help begin a drive by us in supporting others and demanding a new hearing for him and a new judge,” he said. “This has happened to countless young black men, and Meek Mill represents that, and he can be an example of how we correct that.”
Jay-Z has also spoken out about the injustice of the system in Meek Mill’s case who was sent to jail despite the recommendation of his probation officer and prosecutors. In an op-ed for the New York Times Jay-Z penned:
“On the surface, this may look like the story of yet another criminal rapper who didn’t smarten up and is back where he started, but consider this: Meek was around 19 when he was convicted on charges relating to drug and gun possession, and he served an eight-month sentence. Now he’s 30, so he has been on probation for basically his entire adult life. For about a decade, he’s been stalked by a system that considers the slightest infraction a justification for locking him back inside.”
It is apparent that Meek Mill’s case is a representation of what happens every day in the black community and these cases are lost in the midst of their regularity, while Meek Mill can use his status to shine a light on this issue and hopefully rise up from the fold of the system.
