Jay-Z is putting his money where his mouth is, and it speaks volumes. The RocNation founder purchased full-page newspaper ads in dedication to George Floyd, an unarmed black man who was killed by Minneapolis police, and other countless black men who lost their lives at the hands of an unjust system. The ads will be featured in the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Enquirer, with more to follow.
Signed by Jay-Z, George Floyd’s attorney, Benjamin Crump, parents of slain black men, and advocacy groups like The Innocence Project, The Gathering for Justice, and Women’s Global Initiative, the ad leads with a powerful quote from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s 1965 address in Selma, Alabama.
“A man dies when he refuses to stand up for that which is right,” it continues. “A man dies when he refuses to stand up for justice. A man dies when he refuses to take a stand for that which is true. So we’re going to stand up amid horses. We’re going to stand up right here, amid the billy-clubs. We’re going to stand up right here amid police dogs, if they have them. We’re going to stand up tear gas!” a snippet of the ad states.
This isn’t Jay-Z’s first time advocating for justice in the George Floyd case as he called the Governor of Minneapolis directly as “a father and a black man in pain” to discuss ways to “fight for justice” and “prosecute all those responsible for the murder of George Floyd to the fullest extent of the law,” Jay-Z’s Instagram post read.
Do you think Jay-Z buying full-page ads will help to spread awareness and spark change?
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