Jay-Z takes out full-page ad in NY Times to honor George Floyd

Jay-Z took out a full page advertisement in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Atlanta Journal Constitution and other top newspapers in the country this week to honor George Floyd, the unarmed black man who died last week in police custody.

Team Roc, which serves as the social justice division of Jay-Z’s entertainment company, Roc Nation, first posted a photo of the ad on Monday. The ad, which it captioned, “In dedication to George Floyd. #BlackLivesMatter,” invoked remarks Martin Luther King Jr. made from Selma, Ala., in 1965.

“Only way we can really achieve freedom is to somehow hunker the fear of death. But if a man has not discovered something that he will die for, he isn’t fit to live,” the post states, paraphrasing words from King. “Deep down in our nonviolent creed is the conviction–that there are some things so dear, some things so precious, some things so eternally true, that they’re worth dying for.”

“So we’re going to stand up amid horses. We’re going to stand up right here, amid the belly-clubs. We’re going to stand up right here amid police dogs, if they have them. We’re going to stand up amid tear gas! We’re going to stand up amid anything they can muster up, letting the world know that we are determined to be free!” it continues. 

The ad ran in numerous top papers in the country on Tuesday, according to CNN. The ad included signatures from family members of black men and boys who have died at the hands of police, including Terence Crutcher, Botham Jean and Antwon Rose.

The ad also featured signatures from groups like the Innocence Project, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, The Gathering for Justice, and figures like Charlamagne Tha God and Angela Rye.

Team Roc will also plans to run ads in newspapers in the country on Wednesday, according to CNN.