Talib Kweli Speaks Out Against Stop-and-Frisk

Talib Kweli at the 2009 Rocks the Bells music festival in Calgary, Canada. Photo courtesy of Flickr/Duncan Kinney.

Ray Kelly Once Opposed Excessive Stop-and-Frisk

he movement to change the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk policy just got a boost from a celebrity. Hip-hop artist Talib Kweli spoke Friday at a rally at City Hall, urging the police to end the racial profiling that critics say police conduct under the guise of stop-and-frisk.

HipHop DX reported that during the rally Kweli said:

“In a fair and equal world, stop-and-frisk might make sense,” he said. “But we don’t live in a fair and equal world. We live in a world where not everyone starts at the same place. We live in a world that was built on the backs of slaves, some of them are still buried right here under City Hall. You understand what I’m saying?”

After the rally, Kweli gave this interview to Animal New York.

About the Author

Kelly Virella

Kelly Virella lives in an East Harlem walk-up with her husband, her bicycle and her books. She's worked as a journalist for 11 years and started this website during the summer of 2011. She fell in love with New York City during her first visit here as a 16-year-old and finally made good on her promise to move here in April 2010.