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Vic Mensa Joins Protest in Chicago Over Laquan McDonald Murder

Protests have filled the city of Chicago overnight, with swarms of people coming together seeking justice over the Laquan McDonald murder case – and none other than Kanye West protege himself Vic Mensa was in the crowd.

In October 2014, 17-year-old Laquan McDonald was shot an unfathomable sixteen times by a white, male police officer named Jason Van Dyke. Just this week, he was charged with first degree murder and it has been ordered of the Chicago police department that they release the dash cam footage of the murder. Since then, hundreds have taken to the streets to voice their frustration, anger and hurt.

Instagram footage of Mensa in the march has now surfaced, with the rapper saying to the camera, “We want justice for Laquan and we want justice for our people.”

Recently crowned Chicagoan of the YearChance The Rapper has also joined the protests in a less literal sense, tweeting his support of the rallies and making it known that he will be there soon.

 

 

The hip-hop influence doesn’t stop there, though. Footage of the peaceful protestors chanting Kendrick Lamar‘s Alright has also now surfaced. The song has been used more and more frequently in protests across the nation. Although the cause is absolutely heartbreaking, there is something almost uplifting about the below clip, seeing people arm in arm, jumping together whilst chanting the defiant “We gon’ be alright” over and over.  Whilst it’s been almost a year since Vic Mensa was in the country for this year’s Laneway Festival (read our interview with him here), there are just a few months to go until King Kendrick Lamar touches down for three Australian shows only next March. See here for more details on that. Let’s hope we see justice for Laquan McDonald and the Chicago people.