In dedication to George Floyd, Jay-Z bought newspaper ads in dozens of publications, including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune and The Philadelphia Inquirer. The full-page ads, which first ran on Tuesday, June 2, will be followed by pages in dozens of more newspapers across the United States on Wednesday, June 3.
In a photo of the ad shared by Jay-Z entertainment agency, Roc Nation, the pages include a quote from Martin Luther King Jr. at a 1965 address in 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,” the quote starts. “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 are worth dying for.”
“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!”
At the bottom of the ad are signatures from Jay-Z and organizations, such as the Innocent Project and Until Freedom. The ad also includes the names of Floyd’s attorney’s and the parents of Botham Jean, DJ Henry and Antwon Rose II, three unarmed black men who were murdered by police officers. “In dedication to George Floyd. #BlackLivesMatter #JusticeforGeorgeFloyd,” Roc Nation wrote in the caption.
Jay-Z’s ads come after the murder of George Floyd, an unarmed 46-year-old black man, who was killed by police officer Derek Chauvin on May 25. Floyd died from asphyxiation and a lack of oxygen to his brain after Chauvin placed his knee on the man’s neck for almost nine minutes. Four days after Floyd’s death, Chauvin was arrested and charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter. The three other officers who were present but did nothing to prevent Floyd’s death are under investigation, as of May 29. All officers have been fired. After Chauvin’s charge, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman was replaced by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison as the leading prosecutor on the case after an outcry from many in the United States who wondered why it took several days for Chauvin to be charged and arrested.
In an Instagram post on Sunday, May 31, Jay-Z thanked Minnesota governor Tim Walz for replacing Freeman. “After our very earnest conversation, thank you to Governor Walz for doing what’s right and calling in Attorney General Keith Ellison to take over the George Floyd case,” Jay-Z wrote. “Earlier today, Governor Walz mentioned having a human conversation with me—a dad and a black man in pain. Yet, I am a human, a father and a black man in pain, and I am not the only one.”
He continued, “I am more determined to fight for justice than any fight my would-be oppressors may have.” “I prevail on every politician, prosecutor and officer in the country to have the courage to do what is right. Have the courage to look at us as humans, dads, brothers, sisters and mothers in pain and look at yourselves.”