S. Samuel
The Roots' Questlove is the latest hip-hop artist to weigh-in on the emotional outcome of the publicized Trayvon Martin fatal shooting case with an open letter.
Posted onto his Facebook page, Quest revealed his own personal struggles with being perceived as a threat due to his physical appearance and detailed how he connected to the tragic case.
“you aint sh*t. that’s the lesson i take from this case. you aint shi*. those words are deep cause these are words i heard my whole life: i heard from adults in my childhood that i need to be “about something” other than all that banging and clanging and music i play all the time”….and as i got older i heard i wasn’t as good as “so and so and so and so” is at music. —i mean the “you a’int sh*t” stories i got—jesus its a wonder i made it. [sic]” (Questlove’s Facebook)
He also admitted how, sadly, the George Zimmerman verdict did not come as a shocker.
“i wasn’t surprised at all, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t sting any less. i mean i SHOULD be angry right?—i remember when Sean Bell’s outcome came out and i just knew “oh god new york is gonna go up in flames”—and like….noone was fuming…..it was like “shrug….no surprises here….that’s life” … i meant it hurts to hear it and i said “im not surprised at the disposition but who wants to be reminded?….what fat person wants to hear they aren’t pleasing to the eye. or what addict wants to hear they are a constant effup?—who wants to be reminded that *shrug* its just the way it is? so i guess im struggling to get at least 1% of this feeling back from all this protective numbness ive built around me to keep me from feeling because at the end of the day….im still human…. ….right? [sic]” (Questlove’s Facebook)
This week, political activist Wyclef Jean offered some input on what changes can be made to avoid another Trayvon Martin tragedy from taking place.
“The real celebrity is you… you authorize me and you give me the power and you make me famous and you are millions,” he explained. “So imagine if you took that same energy and decided that you want to go change a law in congress. The power is not in the celebrity… the power is in the numbers and the communities.” (MTV)
Florida rapper Ace Hood spoke out this week and said he was overwhelmed with emotion when George Zimmerman had his verdict read to him last Satuday.
“I feel hurt, man, in a sense,” Ace said in an interview. “I never knew Trayvon but watching the whole trial, I felt like he was a part of my family. My biggest thing is we just don’t understand how a guy is able to get off scot-free for killing a young, innocent Black brother. … I literally was almost in tears when the judge said, ‘You don’t have any further business here with the courts.’ And for him to smile in court, I couldn’t understand it because you got a family that’s mourning. Their son won’t be able to wake up in the morning and see his mother and shake hands with his homies or be able to visit that college he wanted to go to. His life is over while you’re smiling over a verdict. I felt like there was no justice and people in Florida are definitely taking it hard.” (Hot 97)
