While many people celebrated St. Patrick’s Day last weekend, City Council encouraged Philadelphians to instead celebrate Meek Mill Weekend.
Meek Mill is a rapper who has been arrested for illegal firearm and drug possession, assault and parole violations.
A resolution passed last Thursday “Honoring, Recognizing, and Congratulating Robert ‘Meek Mill’ Williams for his philanthropic and criminal justice reform endeavors and naming March 15th through March 17th 2019 Meek Mill Weekend in the City of Philadelphia.”
In all, 13 of the 17 Council members sponsored the resolution, which passed on voice vote.
Councilmen Brian O’Neill did not sponsor the resolution. Councilman Curtis Jones was absent when the resolution was circulated. Councilmen Al Taubenberger and Bobby Henon initially sponsored the resolution, but later took their names off it when they realized Meek Mill wasn’t being honored only for his efforts in criminal justice reform, but that he was given his own weekend.
The resolution says, in part, “Robert Williams, known to the world as Meek Mill, is a critically-acclaimed multiplatinum hiphop artist, songwriter, entrepreneur, actor and criminal justice reform advocate that hails from North Philadelphia.”
It goes on to say, “After his release from prison, Meek Mill has used his public platform to generate awareness around the problems of the criminal justice system, including excessive probation regulations, the disproportionate bail system, the lack of rehabilitation programs available, and how these problems disproportionately affect people of color.”
The resolution mentions that Meek Mill and Jay-Z have formed an alliance that supports criminal justice reform and has attracted the support of people such as 76ers part-owner Michael Rubin and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft. ••
