J. Cole Visits Mike Brown Protests in Ferguson
Dreamville Records CEO J. Cole touched down in Ferguson, Mo., over the weekend, where unrest continues more than a week after resident Michael Brown was gunned down by police.
Cole and artists from his label stopped by QuikTrip, the gas station referred to as "ground zero" where protesters and police have squared off and not too far from the street where Brown reportedly lay dead for hours after Officer Darren Wilson, 28, shot him to death.
Brown, 18, was unarmed.
An autopsy report released by the family this weekend shows Brown was shot six times, twice in the head, apparently from a distance (there was no gun powder residue on his body; his clothes were not available for testing), causing tensions to rise again. Police say molotov cocktails and gunfire have come from the protesters and at least two people have been wounded from civilian weapons.
The National Guard was deployed to Ferguson this morning.
"He was not an animal but that's how he was killed," Brown's cousin Ty Pruitt said during a memorial service Sunday (Aug. 17).
The officer should be "held accountable to the full extent of the law," Benjamin Crump, the family's lawyer, insisted.
Many protesters have rallied peacefully.
"It continues to be an 'us against them' mentality..." Cedric the Entertainer, a native of the area, said on CNN this morning. "Right now it feels like the officer in question is being protected by the blue line. ... Why can't they get to the bottom line of this 9, 10 days later? This is what has the young people upset so much, this is why they feel like they're constantly under attack..."
Jeezy visited last week. Chris Brown, Wale, Lil' Mama, Shad Moss and Nelly have also reacted to the tragedy.
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(Photo: cruzxctrl via Instagram)
