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JAY-Z's Calls For Charges To Dismissed Against Black Charleston Protestor

Source: Bernard Smalls/ @PhotosByBeanz

JAY-Z and Team Roc continuing to do what he can to help the cause.

 

A clip featuring protestor Givionne Jordan Jr. being arrested peacefully protesting during a Black Lives Matter demonstration on June 1 in Charleston, South Carolina, has caught JAY-Z and his team’s attention. The video went viral and sparked immediate outrage because police officers specifically singled out Jordan Jr., who is Black. He was arrested for disobeying a lawful order,” and later released on a $465 bond.

Team Roc, who tackles social justice issues on behalf of Roc Nation, took action the day after the incident and came to the defense of Jordan calling for the charges levied against him by the Charleston Police to be dismissed. A statement from Team Roc’s director of philanthropy Dania Diaz expressed Team Roc’s outrage with the incident.

“We are outraged by the Charleston police department’s reprehensible arrest of Givionne Jordan Jr. Not to mention their dismissive response to our concerns about their conduct. Giovionne’s arrest was unlawful, and the Charleston police clearly violated his Constitutional right to peacefully protest. We applaud Givionne and demand that his charges are immediately dismissed.”

Charleston Police Chief Luther Reynolds followed up with his own response on behalf of his department via celebrity gossip site TMZ:

“Mr. Jordan is part of an important movement that truly needs to be heard at this time, and we hope to continue to meet with him and others soon to discuss how we can work together to address the longstanding inequities that persist in our community. At the appropriate time, I will have the opportunity to make recommendations in these cases, and will be requesting that prosecutors exercise leniency, up to and including dismissal, as the circumstances warrant.”

We will continue to keep our eyes on this story as it develops.

Photo: Bernard Smalls/ @PhotosByBeanz