Jay-Z Honors George Floyd With A Full-Page Ad In Newspapers Across America
The ad debuted in prominent publications in the midst of ongoing protests demanding justice for Floyd
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Jay Z and Beyonce
- Rapper Jay-Z sponsored a full-page ad honoring the legacy of George Floyd that debuted in a slew of newspapers across America yesterday.
- The ad is signed by not only the hip-hop mogul but also leading members of advocacy organizations and the families of Black men previously slain at the hands of police enforcement.
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Jay-Z and Roc Nation are continuing to honor the legacy of George Floyd. On Tuesday, the hip-hop mogul and his record company sponsored full-page ads in newspapers across the country to honor Floyd, who was murdered last week at the hands of police enforcement.
The ad was shared via Roc Nation's social media pages (Jay-Z himself rarely utilizes his personal Instagram and Twitter platforms) and quotes a portion of Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1965 speech from Selma, Alabama.
"Only way we can really achieve freedom is to somehow hunker the fear of death. But if a man has not discovered something that he will die for, he isn't fit to live," began the ad. "Deep down in our nonviolent creed is the conviction — that there are some things so dear, some things so precious, some things so eternally true, that they're worth dying for."
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It continued, "A man dies when he refuses to stand up for that which is right. A man dies when he refuses to stand up for justice. A man dies when he refuses to take a stand for that which is true.
So we're going to stand up amid horses. We're going to stand up right here, amid the billy-clubs. We're going to stand up right here amid police dogs, if they have them. We're going to stand up amid tear gas!
We're going to stand up amid anything they can muster up, letting the world know we are determined to be free!"
The ad was signed by Jay-Z along with several leaders from advocacy organizations such as the Women's Global Initiative, Until Freedom, and the Innocence Project, as well as the parents of Botham Jean, DJ Henry, and Antwon Rose II—three Black men previously killed by police officials.
Per People, the ad was printed in papers including The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, and The Philadelphia Inquirer, with more ads to come.
This article originally appeared on Harper's BAZAAR US.
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