Kanye West joins Black Lives Matter protest

After maintaining silence for a while amid the protests, Kanye West, came out into the streets in support of the protests against racial injustice, in Chicago.

Kanye’s surprising appearance

The appearance was a surprise to many given his support for Donald Trump and calling slavery a choice.

The rapper, protested out in the streets of Chicago, in a dark coloured Yeezy hoodie and a black face mask. He was moving swiftly through the crowd without wanting to grab any attention to himself.
As soon as the pictures surfaced online, fans cheered for Kanye West supporting the protests.

This protest largely comprised of Chicago Public School students who were marching to protest the police brutality. Activist, Ja’Mal Green organized the rally with several other individuals.

“We’re doing this because we need the CPD out of our schools,” organizer Jalen Jobayashi told NBC 5 Chicago. “We live in an over-militarized, over-surveillance state. We are living in a state where police are out here killing out kids on their way to and from school.”

Despite keeping a low profile, Kanye was hugging fellow protestors and giving them few words of wisdom. However, according to USA Today, he only remained for a short while, after organisers became ‘frustrated with the disorder’ when the world-famous rapper arrived.

The father-of-four’s prior silence got criticism by many, due to his support in the past for President Donald Trump. In 2018, West visited POTUS in the White House wearing a Make America Great Again hat. Earlier this year he implied, he would be voting for Trump in this year’s presidential election.

The ‘Stronger‘ rapper has stepped in after the death of George Floyd sparked civil unrest across the country.

West has still not publicly made a statement on the issue. However, Kim Kardarshian West, has spoken about the racial injustice and police accountability on Instagram.

Kim Kardarshian West

She posted by writing:

“For years, with every horrific murder of an innocent Black man, woman, or child, I have always tried to find the right words to express my condolences and outrage, but the privilege I am afforded by the color of my skin has often left me feeling like this is not a fight that I can truly take on my own.”

Kim continues by saying how angry and disgusted this makes her. She feels exhausted by the unjust murder for just being black. Kardarshian went on to say how heartbroken she feels by seeing mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers and children suffering because their loved ones were no more.

Kardarshian explained how she will never understand or know the pain and suffering; she will never know the feeling of trying to survive in a world plagued by systemic racism. Kim clarified that she understands she can use her voice to help amplify other voices.

Another note added that, not just SKIMS but all her brands would be weighing in including her makeup and fragrance companies. She said, ‘My teams and I stand in solidarity with those making their voices heard in the fight against systemic racism.’

Kanye’s contribution

On top of the public appearance in support of the protests, Kanye has set up almost 529 college funds for Gianna Floyd, daughter of George Floyd. The rapper has also pledged to cover the legal costs for the Arbery and the Taylor families. Meanwhile a GoFundMe campaign devoted to Gianna’s “care and future” has amassed more than $1.5 million in donations. 

West has reportedly donated $2 million to various charities associated with Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor.

Fox News reported that West “has pledged to pay legal costs for the families of Arbery and Taylor and will make financial contributions to Black-owned businesses in his hometown of Chicago.”

For the unversed, Ahmaud Arbery was jogging, when he was fatally shot; while some police officers killed Breonna Taylor in her own house. George Floyd– pressed down to the ground by the police for 9 minutes leading to his death. The video of George Floyd surfaced and created a stir leading to protests every day since then.

Protests erupted across the nation and around the world following Floyd’s death on May 25. The 46-year-old Minneapolis man, died after former police officer, Derek Chauvin, held him down by the neck with his knee. The officer arrested Floyd for suspicion of forgery, outside a deli. Chauvin had himself fired, arrested and charged with second-degree murder. The three other since-fired officers involved in the fatal arrest — Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao–was charged as well with aiding and abetting murder.

Ahmaud Arbery- an unarmed 25-year-old black man- was shot and killed by white residents on February 23 while jogging in a suburban Brunswick, Georgia. Taylor was a 26-year-old black woman who was fatally shot by police in her Louisville, Kentucky, home on March 13.