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Its been nine months since JAY-Z announced his partnership with the Weinstein Company. Since then, the rapper/executive producer dropped a six-part Kalief Browder docuseries (Time: The Kalief Browder Story). In March, Hov and Weinstein announced two more projects: a docuseries and film (they’re separate) on the life of Trayvon Martin—both based on the books Suspicion Nation: The Inside Story of the Trayvon Martin Injustice and Why We Continue to Repeat It and Rest in Power: The Enduring Life of Trayvon Martin.
As Hov says in a guest column penned for The Hollywood Reporter, social justice is beyond being a political issue. “It’s a human issue. It’s a story of empathy.” Which is why he’s pushing for folks to become more involved within the civic landscape.
“When I started talking with Harvey Weinstein about Kalief’s short life, it made me realize that a documentary series like Time: The Kalief Browder Story could raise our voices and create that collective we need,” he writes. “We can work together to demand change from our elected government officials. We put them in office, we make the laws, and we show them the path to progress. That is our power, and it’s the only way that healing will come for Kalief and his family.”
Throughout his essay, Jay also stresses the importance of underlining the stories of Browder, Martin, and the hundreds of other Black people who lost their lives at the hands of the justice system. As Jay states, we must “save a generation of kids from the same fate.”
“My hope is for my next documentary, Rest in Power: The Trayvon Martin Story, to create a similar conversation that leads to change and helps keep our children safe,” he continues. “And it’s an honor to have the support of Trayvon’s family in telling the story.”
Read JAY-Z’s guest column at The Hollywood Reporter in full here.
