Macklemore’s lyrical activism earlier this year predates the police shootings of both Alton Sterling and Philando Castile but his message was still a timely one indeed.
Although his sophomore album with Ryan Lewis, This Unruly Mess I’ve Made, was made into an afterthought before it barely had wiggle room to chart, the song “White Privilege II” marked the proud Seattle native’s most prolific moment as an artist. Iggy Azalea and Elvis Presley mentions aside, the record chronicled the disconnect between everyday Americans (re: middle-class Caucasians) whose world couldn’t be affected until injustice is brought right into their living room. Literally.
The 33-year-old Macklemore (born Ben Haggerty) has been keeping close tabs on the Sterling and Castille developments like most of the free world (and the Hip Hop community) and he took to Instagram to vent as well as peg those individuals who may have snoozed on his aforementioned record.
“How many more murders of black people by police before we hold our system and those that enforce it accountable?” he asked. “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.”
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As a fairly new husband and father, Macklemore also expressed the importance of letting certain forms of media carry a narrative that masquerades as the truth while he attempted to offer a solution to the ongoing ordeal of police brutality and systematic oppression.
“The news, TV, movies, jails, history books, schools and our laws all uphold this false belief,” he stated. “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 www.pisab.org 3: Have conversations about race. In real life. With people that look like you and people that don’t. RIP #altonsterling”
He also shared portions of the Castillo Facebook Live video, exposing it to a new batch of followers.
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Check out Mack’s full Alton Sterling PSA down below.
