Continuing his work toward social justice, Vic Mensa is seeking to bring attention to the Dakota Access pipeline protest by posting videos of the situation to his social media.
The Chicago rapper has been in Standing Rock for the last few days, joining those who are trying to prevent that pipeline, which will carry crude oil, from interfering with Native American land.
Mensa previously addressed the Flint Water crisis and police brutality on his EP There’s Alot Going On. Now, in addition to documenting the activity at Standing Rock through Facebook Live videos, Mensa posted this poignant statement to his Instagram page:
“I’ve been at #StandingRock for the last 3 days, and the experience has been amazing. If you’re not in tune with what’s going on here, Standing Rock is an Indian reservation where a major oil company is trying to drill a pipeline underneath the river that supplies drinking water for millions of people on and off of the reservation.
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“Drilling that oil pipeline could contaminate the livelihood of so many people, primarily indigenous people of this land that have been systematically destroyed since Europeans arrived in America. Thousands of people have come from all over the world to Standing Rock to stop that pipeline from being drilled and protect the water.”
The primary concern of protesters is that the pipeline could contaminate the water supply, which is exactly why the line isn’t running through the state capital of Bismarck. Instead, it is being run within half a mile of the Sioux reservation at Standing Rock.
The behavior of the police managing the protests has also been criticized as heavy-handed, with dogs and water cannons used to disperse the crowds.
Vic Mensa’s Standing Rock video diary can be found on the Roc Nation rapper’s Facebook page.
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Mensa has also used his Instagram account to inform people that they can get more information and donate money or supplies to the cause by visiting standingrock.org.
