Earlier we announced that Jay-Z would be working on a new television series with The Weinstein Company which will centralize around Kalief Browder, a 16-year-old who was imprisoned on Rikers Island for three years without conviction before taking his own life. Jay did a press conference about the show when a reporter asked him what he thinks is the best way to “[stop] police brutality against African-American men.”
In response to that question, Jay say there has to be ‘respect on both sides.’ He also put strong emphasis on ‘trust’ and a need for compassion. Jay says,
When you have compassion for what someone goes through—we’re all looking for a short embrace at time. Judgement is the enemy of compassion. When you are able to identify that…we’re all not perfect, we may make mistakes. All of us, every single one of us. When you have compassion for what someone’s going through and their plight, my personal belief, having the camera on someone creates more distrust. When we have an exchange and it has to be recorded, something’s wrong there, something’s broken. A camera can’t fix a relationship between a person that’s hired to protect and serve and society. There has to be a relationship. There has to be respect on both sides.
Jay stated that he hopes the justice system reform transcends party politics.
“We have hopes that we’re all moving forward as a society. It’s not a political issue. It’s a human issue.”
Source: Complex
