Kanye West may be done with politics and Donald Trump, but he’s clearly still interested in civic engagement and social concerns.
His recent donation of $150,000 to the family of Jemel Roberson, the black security guard who was shot and killed while on duty dealing with an active shooter situation at a Chicago-area bar by a white police officer on Nov. 11, is a case in point.
Although West had not commented on the donation himself as of Saturday, Nov. 17, a fan website (via People) published a screenshot showing the rapper’s donation to the GoFundMe page set up in honor of the slain 26-year-old security guard, father and church organist on Friday, Nov. 16.
Roberson’s killing at the hands of the Midlothian, Illinois, police officer has drawn national outrage. According to multiple reports, Roberson had asked a group of people to leave Manny’s Blue Room Bar in the early hours of Nov. 11 because they were so intoxicated. A witness named Adam Harris told WGN one of the costumers who’d been kicked out returned with a gun and opened fire on the bar, injuring multiple people including the bartender.
Roberson, whose death is still under investigation and whose killer’s name has not been released, was reportedly working extra shifts at the bar and performing paid gigs at local church services for extra money to pay for Christmas presents for his 9-month-old son, according to USA Today.
The mother of Roberson’s son is pregnant with the couple’s second child. She has reportedly hired a lawyer, while Roberson’s mother has filed a federal suit against the officer who killed her son and the police department for which he works.
A Chicago native, West recently came under scrutiny when he announced he was moving — along with his wife, Kim Kardashian West, and their children — back to his hometown. He has yet to show he’s followed through on the move, but he has seemed focused on helping his community in Southern California rebuild amid the ongoing, deadly Woolsey Fire, which also forced the West family out of their home.
