Philadelphia Deems Friday Through Sunday ‘Meek Mill Weekend’
Today (Mar. 14), rapper Meek Mill received a weekend from his hometown of Philadephia.
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The “24/7” rapper shared a photo from the proclamation today on his Instagram page. He wrote, “Philly gave me a meek weekend!!!!! Thank you to my city!”
Mill was honored by Philadelphia’s City Council for his advocacy around criminal justice reform, according to the Philadelphia Tribune.
Meek Mill gave a presentation during a Philadelphia city council meeting today where the 31-year-old artist spoke about how heavily black people and people of color are affected by the criminal justice system.
“I don’t want my son growing up in a world — a place where if he decided to use marijuana one time, he could spend two or three years in a state penitentiary raised by people he don’t know,” Mill said as he stood beside his 7-year-old son, Rihmeek Williams.
The hip-hop artist also added that he wanted to use his platform to acquire a more equitable criminal justice system for people “who actually come up under different circumstances.”
Mill is no stranger to the criminal justice system. The rapper was sent to prison in Pennsylvania in 2017 for violating his parole for an arrest that took place 10 years ago.
Last spring, the Championships rapper was released from prison after Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner’s Office questioned the validity of the arresting officer in Mill’s (who was born Robert Rihmeek Williams) 2007 arrest.
Meek Mill has recently teamed up with Jay-Z on Reform Alliance, which is a criminal justice reform coalition with a mission to raise bail funds.
The rapper is currently trekking the nation for his Motivation tour and will be performing twice in his hometown, this weekend at The Met.
Glennisha Morgan is a Detroit-bred multimedia journalist and writer. She writes about intersectionality, hip-hop, pop culture, queer issues, race, feminism, and her truth. Follow her on Twitter @GlennishaMorgan
