Atlanta, GA – As several cities across the United States continue to erupt in riots and protests over the police killing 46-year-old George Floyd, Killer Mike is attempting to encourage the Atlanta community to stop burning down their own city.
On Friday (May 29), the Run The Jewels MC delivered an impassioned speech at the Atlanta Mayor’s Press Conference and got emotional as he spoke about Floyd’s murder.
With tears in his eyes and t-shirt that read “Kill Your Masters,” Mike explained the frustrating position he’s in as both a black man and son an Atlanta city police ficer.
“I got a lot love and respect for police ficers down to the original eight police ficers in Atlanta that even after becoming police, had to dress in a YMCA because white ficers didn’t want to get dressed with n*ggers,” he said. “Here we are 80 years later, I watched a white ficer assassinate a black man and I know that tore your heart out. I have nothing positive to say in this moment, because I don’t want to be here.”
He continued, “I am duty-bound to be here to simply say it is your duty not to burn your own house down for anger with an enemy. It is your duty to fortify your own house, so that you may be a house refuge in times organization. And now is the time to plot, plan, strategize, organize and mobilize.”
Mike then talked about how it’s time to “beat up” corrupt politicians at the voting booth, while asserting he’s “mad as hell.”
“I woke up wanting to see the world burn yesterday because I’m tired seeing black men die,” he said. “He casually put his knee on a human being’s neck for nine minutes as he died like a zebra in the clutch a lion’s jaw and we watch it like murder porn over and over again. So that’s why children are burning it to the ground. They don’t know what else to do.
“And it is the responsibility us to make this better right now. We don’t want to see one ficer charged, we want to see four ficers prosecuted and sentenced. We don’t want to see targets burning, we want to see the system that sets up for systemic racism burnt to the ground.”
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Fellow ATL rapper T.I., who spoke right before Mike at the same conference, agreed riots aren’t the way.
“Atlanta has been here for us,” he said. “This city don’t deserve it, however I understand that a lot others do. But, we can’t do that here…it’s sacred. It must be protected.”
Watch the full conferenced below, which also includes commentary from Dr. Bernice King and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.