John Legend has been a vocal critic of former United States President Donald Trump ever since the latter pivoted to politics, and he has now elaborated on his stance.
On Sunday (April 21), the singer and pianist joined MSNBC to discuss the current state of criminal justice with an emphasis on pre-trial reform. Over the chat, host Jen Psaki asked him about the 77-year-old signing the “First Step Act” in 2018 “to reduce the size of the federal prison population while also creating mechanisms to maintain public safety” — this, however, wasn’t enough to change the Grammy winner’s perspective.
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“He’s not been an ally,” the Get Lifted hitmaker said right off the bat. “I think the ‘First Step Act’ was fine — it was a very small reform, and to be honest, most of the reform we need is on the local and state level because most incarceration is local and state, and most of the laws that end up being criminally enforced are local and state laws, so very little impact can happen on the federal level.
“At the same time he’s claiming credit for those small things, he’s also saying, ‘Y’know, if people are stealing something, they should get shot in the middle of the store.’ When we protested the killing of George Floyd, he was advocating for the military to shoot us in the streets.”
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He added: “He’s made it clear throughout his life that he believes Black people are inferior; like he believes that to his core, in his bones. He won’t let us live in his buildings back in the day, but also when you hear some of the stray comments he makes, he clearly believes in a genetic hierarchy of humanity and is racially determined.
“He is a tried-and-true, dyed-in-the-wool racist, like in the core of his being, he is a racist.”
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Listen to the “Save Room” hitmaker discuss the businessman-turned-politician at the 17:37 mark below:
In related news, JAY-Z and Meek Mill’s REFORM Alliance took on Pennsylvania’s punitive probation system last year and won.
According to a press release shared with HipHopDX, the criminal justice reform collective worked alongside a bipartisan group of lawmakers and advocates to bring Senate Bill 838 before Governor Josh Shapiro in mid-December.
Per the matter’s Legislative notes, the bill is “an Act amending Title 42 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, in sentencing, further providing for order of probation, for conditions of probation and for modification or revocation of order of probation and providing for probation review conference.”
Put simply, it will provide necessary reforms to the state’s probation rules, making it easier for the formerly incarcerated to abide by them in order to prevent further recidivism.
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“It’s long past time to reform our system as a whole and put responsible limits on probation terms,” Shapiro in early 2023. “You’ve passed that bill before. And I hope you’ll do it again. Put it on my desk and I’ll sign it.”
He subsequently made things official after the House passed the legislation, at which point he signed the bill as promised.
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Soon after, Meek expressed the win’s personal significance to him and wrote: “My experience on probation reflected millions of other stories that go unheard. So when the world saw my case and the absurdity of sending people to prison for non-criminal technical violations, it sparked a movement.
“It’s an honor and a blessing to see this change come to my home state. I am deeply grateful to the lawmakers and advocates for their hard work over many years to get this done. Thank you, truly.”
