Jay-Z penned a guest column for The Hollywood Reporter where he urges fans and readers to push for criminal justice reform on the local level. In the guest spot, he promotes two upcoming documentaries he’s producing on Kalief Browder and Trayvon Martin, before asking readers to do whatever they can to make change.
“The power of one voice is strong, but when it comes to social justice, the power of our collective voices is unstoppable,” he wrote. “Now is the time to recognize that through our voices we really can effect change. Some of us will do the important work locally at the micro level to awaken our neighbors. Some of us will work for progress regionally. And a few of us will be like Kalief Browder, a modern-day prophet whose death two years ago started a discussion that continues today about how poor, black juveniles are treated in the criminal justice system.”
Jay-Z also asked that his readers not get hung up on the term “social justice” or make it about politics. Among certain right-wing circles, the words carry the same baggage as “political correctness.” But Jay lays out why it’s important to everyone.
“Social justice isn’t a political issue,” he said. “It’s a human issue. It’s a story of empathy. When we are able to identify that we are all not perfect and have compassion for someone else, we can move forward as a society.”
Give the whole thing a read over at THR.
