Macklemore Demands White People Care More About Police Brutality

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The death of 37-year-old Alton Sterling has caused folks like Meek Mill, Fabolous, Big Pooh and Drake to speak out against police brutality. Others, like Jesse Williams and even TSS’ very own Gregg Whitt, also weighed in on the extrajudicial killing of the Baton Rouge native. Macklemore has decided to join the fray with an Instagram post addressing the killing.

“How many more murders of black people by police before we hold our system and those that enforce it accountable? The footage of Alton Sterling being murdered by a police officer is equal parts horrific, infuriating and devastating. How many times can we watch a family at a press conference in hysterics over the killing of their loved one? Murdered by those that have been assigned to protect us.”

The Seattle rapper explains that police brutality will continue to happen until “white people care enough to change it.” He acknowledges the fact that had he been Alton Sterling, he “would be alive today, because of the color of [his] skin.” Towards the end of his post, he offers a resource for the People’s Institute ‘Undoing Racism’ Training which is a program that has “important tools to understanding our past in relation to the work that needs to be done.”

Read Macklemore’s full statement below.

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How many more murders of black people by police before we hold our system and those that enforce it accountable? The footage of Alton Sterling being murdered by a police officer is equal parts horrific, infuriating and devastating. How many times can we watch a family at a press conference in hysterics over the killing of their loved one? Murdered by those that have been assigned to protect us. What do we do in times like these? It's a question for everyone, but specifically white people. The systematic oppression that enables a murder like this, will be corrected once white people care enough to change it. Alton Sterling didn't create this problem. This is hundreds of years of conditioning. We have been told our entire lives that people that look like Alton Sterling, selling CD's outside of a store, are a threat to our society. The news, TV, movies, jails, history books, schools and our laws all uphold this false belief. A person isn't born fearing someone because of the color of their skin. This fear is taught, crafted and instilled in the fabric of our American lives. And although we make strides and progress is measurable at times, I can't help but think….If I was put in the exact same situation that Alton was in, I would be alive today…Because of the color of my skin. And he's dead because of his. I often don't know what to do during these moments. It becomes easier to vent on social media than to take direct action. Here's a couple things I've gotten hip to in the last 2 years. 1: Financially support black led organizations. Put your resources behind people of color that are at the forefront of the movement 2: Do a People's Institute "Undoing racism" training. One of the most eye opening and important tools to understanding our past in relation to the work that needs to be done. The website is http://www.pisab.org 3: Have conversations about race. In real life. With people that look like you and people that don't. RIP #altonsterling

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(Via XXL)

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