Why Meek Mill Identifying With Gaza Is Important
Those facing the trauma of systemic oppression aren’t obligated to communicate their pain perfectly.
Photo Credit: Jared Piper/PHLCouncil
Last week, Meek Mill did what Meek Mill does: he riled the social mediasphere with a post. But this occasion was different: He wasn’t levying ghostwriting allegations or posted poolside with fries in his lap, he was being vulnerable about his tumultuous upbringing. He posted on X, “I see war in Ghaza [sic] like dead babies daily… I’m from Philly my family and friends live amongst a lot of murder I also grew up around that … I been in and out of prison my whole 20’s most my cell mates was killers … my dad was killed at 5… out on probation for 16 years…”
People familiar with his catalog have heard him chronicle gun violence, poverty, and other effects of systemic racism in his music. And even those unaware of his music likely remember the #FreeMeek campaign and the groundswell of attention brought to his predacious decade-long probation sentence, which he said cost millions to fight—money the average Philly resident in his predicament doesn’t have.
Some people engaging with his post assumed he was equating his struggle to the people facing genocide in Palestine, but there’s no evidence to support that. One account noted, “Lmao this guy Philly [is] like Disneyland comparing to what’s going on in Ghaza.“ But another account, Rakeem Shabazz, made an astute observation: “Both are settler colonial states that participate in white hegemony.” It serves no one to play the oppression Olympics, but it’s not hyperbolic to say that many American citizens, especially Black ones, can commiserate with Palestinians on inhumane treatment at the hands of a colonial state. More observations like Meek’s will amplify the interrelation and strengthen Black and Brown solidarity.
Meek also posted, “I tell my story so people can hear the experience not follow the experience and my pain will explain to you shouldn’t follow it… yeah I’ve grown but I don’t know who yall expect me to act like or rap like… yes I am smart and know how to clean my act up but I am who I am!”
It’s impossible to know the full intent of Meek’s posts without someone asking him to expand on what he meant, but regardless, he laid out the parallels between his oppressive conditions in Philly and those in Gaza. It’s up to the rest of us to highlight that racial capitalism is at the root of both wars — but instead, many criticized the post. It may not have been precisely articulated, but connections like the one Meek drew are the first step toward radicalization drastically needed to uproot the colonial settler state.
Upward mobility is the prevailing theme of Meek Mill’s music; he’s continuously chronicled his shift from the Philly streets to the top of the Billboard charts, establishing class ascendance as his identity more than any actual trait. The story may even be getting old to people, but that’s only because America’s prevailing plague is poverty; 11.6% of Americans reportedly live below the poverty line. Meek resonates with the systemic underclass that politicians ignore, including people more likely to listen to him than an academic or community organizer.
Those facing the trauma of systemic oppression aren’t obligated to communicate their pain perfectly, it’s only important that they speak out. Slain freedom fighter Fred Hampton once noted that “the way [people] learn is through observation and participation.” And it’s important to have the humility to meet people where they’re at when they make that observation. That’s more important than ever, especially in the context of the genocide Meek referenced.
Black and Palestinian solidarity has been strong since the 1960s thanks to Black liberation movements who called out Zionism as a movement of racial capitalism funded by the United States. In a 1967 statement, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) called out Israel as “the tool and foot-hold for American and British exploitation in the Middle East and Africa.” They also highlighted Israel’s role in aiding America’s control of Arab oil fields, which has in turn strengthened their might. Israelis militaristic ploys for the Gaza Strip have been the ongoing aftermath of the Israeli-Arab war since 1948, as Zionists believe they’re divinely entitled to the Palestinian land. In 1991, activist Kwame Ture, fka Stokley Carmichael, noted that while he honored Judaism, "Zionism is about land…Israel will always belong to the Palestinians just as America will always belong to the Indians." In 2014, Palestinians were protesting an Israeli occupation during the same time that Black protesters protested in Ferguson for Mike Brown. Protesters chanted “From Ferguson to Palestine, occupation is a crime” at domestic demonstrations.
Since Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel last October, Israel has waged their latest round of military action against Palestine funded by U.S. President Joe Biden. This latest round of attacks has received heightened global attention, perhaps due to an influx of citizen journalists who are giving the world a firsthand glimpse of their daily blight.
Over 26,000 Palestinian people have died since October 7th, and two million have been displaced. There are no hospitals in Gaza for the people who are suffering from the daily bombing. President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claim that they’re only attacking Hamas militants, but X accounts are posting daily about white-flag-waving civilians being killed by Israeli Defense Force (IDF) soldiers. People in Gaza are now eating pigeon food because there is no more food supply, and experiencing cardiac issues because the bombing has them in a constant state of adrenaline rush. America’s major news outlets aren’t reporting the reality of the occupation, framing it as a war on terror by conflating Hamas’ decolonial violence with Israel's settler agenda. Over 100 journalists have died, including some who were allegedly the victims of targeted strikes to stifle their coverage.
On Friday the International Court of Justice ruled that Israel should “prevent the commission of all acts” of genocide against Gaza. In response, White House Spokesman John Kirby said “It’s hard to see [the ruling impacting US policy]…the approach we’ve been taking has been getting results.” There seems to be little stopping a defenseless Palestinian population from being completely wiped out besides a ceasefire. But many people who have advocated against Israel’s bombing have been framed as pro-Hamas by Zionists and the Western establishment.
In October, Michigan congresswoman Rashida Tlaib was censured by Congress for a statement where she noted that Israel’s apartheid state can “[create] the suffocating, dehumanizing conditions that can lead to resistance” and denouncing the US funding Israel’s efforts. In October, sports reporter Jason Frank was fired from the Philly Voice for posting “solidarity with Palestine” on X. Writer Jazmine Hughes left the New York Times shortly after signing a ceasefire letter. David Velasco of Artforum was fired after publishing a letter calling for a ceasefire. A group of Columbia students were allegedly chemically attacked by a former IDF soldier at a New York protest, and say they’re still experiencing headaches and chest pain (they also say Columbia has not reached out to them). Advocating for Palestinian people is no casual cause celebre; speaking up may cost people opportunities, if not more. And while it’s always easy to talk ourselves into practicality, ultimately our silence on Gaza becomes a choice of personal comfort over the lives of others.
Meek is the latest artist to acknowledge what’s occurring in Gaza. Drake signed a ceasefire letter calling for America to “honor all of the lives in the Holy Land and call for and facilitate a ceasefire without delay – an end to the bombing of Gaza, and the safe release of hostages.” The letter was also signed by Killer Mike, Vic Mensa, Macklemore, Miguel, Kaytranada, and other musicians and celebrities. At an LA protest, Kehlani told the Party for Socialism and Liberation “I don’t think [the Gaza occupation] is a complicated situation at all. I think it’s black and white, and you have a choice to see it or not.” Summer Walker took to Instagram to note that, “the Genocide and execution of innocent lives, those of children, women, men & elders in Palestine & Gaza needs to stop."
But those public admonitions seem too few and far between. #FreePalestine and #CeasefireNow don’t seem to be as prevalent as hashtags related to domestic state-sanctioned violence in 2020, even though there are parallels between the struggles. Palestinians are being tyrannized by Zionist nationalists just like Black and Brown people stateside are at odds with white nationalists who illegally occupied North American land and placed themselves atop the violent caste system. Both states, America and Israel, instituted racial capitalism by forcibly sustaining an underclass and denying them equal opportunity. In either region, an uprising by the oppressed group is misrepresented and framed as an unjustifiable affront to the empire; there are still people in prison behind the Ferguson and the 2020 protests. In Meek’s hometown, Philadelphia Police bombed the headquarters of the MOVE Black Liberation group in 1985, killing 11 people and damaging 61 homes in the neighborhood; no one has been prosecuted for the act. Meek might not have experienced the concentrated bombing that’s taking place in Gaza, but he’s nonetheless seen the consequences of an empire vying to systematically subdue groups of people for the cause of white nationalism.
Some people believe what’s happening in Gaza shouldn’t be prioritized because it’s not happening on American soil. But the violence is happening with our tax dollars, and being administered by people who oppress all marginalized groups equally. Imperialism is an unceasing white nationalist plague; if they successfully pillage their overseas targets, oppressed people domestically are next. That’s why it’s important to stir Black and Brown solidarity against that shared enemy.
And that’s not to predict that Meek’s post is the pretense of his revolutionary pivot, but as more prominent people amplify these discussions, the chances rise that people who hadn’t previously considered the universality of the issue might realize just how much in common they have with those in Palestine. That’s how you build people power.
On “Flamerz Flow,” Meek rapped, “They killed my daddy, I was five and I got made a man.” The reflection may sound like posturing, but it’s the reality of children in Gaza who not only have to contend with the PTSD of bombs going off, but losing their parents in front of them. It’s also important to note that this deluge of traumatic bombing is how people end up joining Hamas. Their ranks aren’t shadowy spawns of satan, but human beings with legitimate gripes against a heartless oppressor, who choose to meet the IDF’s violence with violence. One can question their means to an end, but ignoring their origins obfuscates the scope of what’s happening in Gaza. Decades from now, we’ll be seeing the consequences of this ongoing occupation. Meanwhile, the Biden administration is making statements about Taylor Swift AI. They clearly don’t care. That’s why we need to support whoever does — however they choose to communicate it.
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