For Immediate Release
May 7, 2020
Following the Murder of Ahmaud Arbery, Michael Render, pka Killer Mike, Urges Black People to take Second Amendment Rights Seriously
ATLANTA – The African American community is again grieving after a triggering and graphic video depicting the shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery, a Black man gunned down while jogging near Brunswick, Georgia. Michael Render, pka Killer Mike, an activist, businessman, Grammy Award-winning rapper, and one half of the Hip Hop duo, Run the Jewels, issued the following statement:
“Black people in this country, please take full advantage of your Second Amendment rights. People of color, people who are not in the majority in this country, please take shooting, training, and the protection of your rights seriously. The police cannot always get to you on time, and the world is not a just place. Further, the police are sometimes in collusion with the perpetrators of your demise.
“The only person you can count on to protect yourself and your family is you. God gave you the right to use whatever tools available to defend your rights. This is what Michael Lynn, Jr. did earlier this week when he and a group of law-abiding men and women escorted Sarah Anthony, a black legislator, to the Michigan state capitol following protests there by throngs of heavily armed white residents. I applaud those Black and Brown men and women for their courage and bravery at a time when it is needed most.
“There isn’t a day that goes by where my wife and I go out the door without being armed. We take gun ownership as seriously as we do tend to our garden. God gave us the right to use all available tools to defend ourselves and that is what we intend to do.
“I don’t want to say things that could be inflammatory or hurtful. But I encourage people who look like me to buy a pistol, buy a rifle, train, and to carry your weapon in places where it is legal to do so.
“Beyond Ahmaud Arbery, and the horrible crime that those dirty, evil men did, I want Black people to join his family in defending his legacy and ensuring that it is capped by justice. I want us to ensure that the evil men who killed him (and the police who killed Sean Reed) spend the rest of their lives in jail.
“My wife and I send our deepest condolences to Ahmaud Arbery’s family, and to Sean Reed’s family. We stand in solidarity with those who chase justice. Love and respect.”
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Contact: Jennifer R. Farmer, jenniferr@spotlightpr.org
