Mark Sanchez
Robert Rihmeek Williams , AKA rapper Meek Mill. Raised in Philadelphia, Meek was exposed to the violence and street life of one of Americas oldest cities. Meek started as a street battle rapper and rose to the Billboard top 200. His lyrics echo the struggle of the African American life in murder infested neighborhood.
Mill was arrested for illegally possessing a firearm and assaulting a policeman when he was 18 years old. He was put on probation. Since then, he has been arrested four times for parole violation. It sounds like an open and close case. The problem is that the policeman who arrested Meek was under investigation for being a dirty cop. When you live in a bad neighborhood everyone assumes on the side of the police rather than due process.
Meek was now in the system and under a judge that had it out for him. He would constantly violate probation on technicalities. Meek’s case has brought attention to the €œset up to fail€ system of the American correctional institution. Meek was in no way an angel or not guilty of many of the probation violations. The problem was the judge and her handling of his case and probation. Meek should have been cleared of the original crime that set these wheels in motion. He was a man caught in the system with no hope of ever getting out. Instead on March 11, 2017, Mill was arrested at a local airport in St Louis for assaulting two pedestrians. Shortly after his arrest and court appearance, he was given a court summons. On November 6, 2017, he was sentenced to two to four years in state prison for violating his parole.
This was the beginning of a movement calling for Justice in Meeks case. All over the city of Philly a cry arose; €œfree Meek Mill€. Mill had some help in some unlikely places. Meek had early on, in a chance meeting being befriended by the owner of Philly’s beloved basketball team, the 76ers, Michael G. Rubin. While Mr. Rubin spent money and time bringing awareness to Meeks situation, it was the people of the city that organized a grassroots movement to bring awareness to injustice in the criminal system.
In February 2018, the officer of Mill’s original 2007 case was brought under heat for the alleged mishandling of his arrest. (This comes upon a whistle-blower’s testimony responsible for the revelation of hundreds of other corrupt officers. An appeal to reverse Mill’s conviction was submitted.)
Reports also alleged that there was an investigation by the FBI into the conduct of the judge presiding over his case, Judge Brinkley. This was later publicly confirmed by Mill’s defense team. Meek’s attorney, Joe Tacopina, made several allegations of inappropriate statements and actions from Brinkley, including that “she requested he re-record a Boyz 2 Men song and give her a shout out, and that she wanted him to leave Roc Nation to sign with a friend of €œhers” and that “she showed up at his community service”. All inappropriate actions by a judge.
On April 24, 2018, Mill was released pending the outcome of the appeal to the Pennsylvania supreme court.
So what do Ping Pong Balls have in common with Meek Mill?
The world has been made aware of the horrors of Bashar Al-Assad’s Syria. A man who would gas his own people rather than give up power should make us all weep. This brutal dictator will go to any length to crush his opposition and silence his critics. In the middle of such horrifying conditions, hope is arising. A few non-violent activists came up with a plan. They knew if they could make people laugh at Assad, then the sword of fear he wielded would eventually crumble.
They came up with one of many brilliant plans. While the rest of the nation hid in fear and trembling, they crept in the major squares of Damascus and put red dye in the fountains. When Bashar Al-Assad’s Syria woke up. The fountains looked like they were bubbling with blood. It was a comedic exposure to the world of the brutal regime. It was not only the red dye that was keeping the regime occupied, it was also ping pong balls. Yes, you heard me right… Ping Pong Balls! These activists got ahold of thousands of these little white balls and wrote anti-Assad messages on them. Then they would dump them down the hilly streets of Damascus. Think of it. A regime with overwhelming power was running around fearing ping pong balls.
What Mill and Ping Pong Balls have in common is us. If we are willing to sit around and ignore injustice it will always exist. If we join together in non-violent acts of love we have the power to see change. Regimes don’t fall in a night but they start to fall when we stand up. I encourage you to get involved in your community. Start with the injustices on your street and move to your neighborhood and state. Stand up and be a voice for good.
Look for Mark’s next article on Friday, May 25th.
Salt, Gandhi and the New America
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