Meek Mill is back and doing big things! The rapper is not only gearing up for new music, but he’s giving back to the community in a powerful way! Here’s everything you should know!.
Meek Mill, is more than a rapper. — He’s a pioneer for criminal justice reform, a caring member of his community and he’s out to make a difference for the greater good. On October 11, the Philadelphia rapper announced plans to renovate his childhood basketball court at East Fairmount Park in North Philly. “North Philly will always be home, so it’s special to partner with PUMA, Roc Nation and Project Backboard to give my community a fresh new basketball court,” Mill said. Meek, a big basketball (Sixers) fan himself, said: “When kids go to East Fairmount Park, they deserve to ball in the best conditions possible, so I’m glad they’ll have that opportunity now.”
And, he’s not done there. On October 6, PUMA announced a new platform aiming to promote social change, involving Meek, Olympian and Human Rights Activist Tommie Smith, and WNBA All-Star Skylar Diggins-Smith, along with PUMA CEO Bjorn Gulden and PUMA Global Director, Brand and Marketing Adam Petrick. Inspired by the bravery of Tommie Smith and the Silent Gesture at the 1968 Mexico City Games, #Reform will address the areas of Universal Equality, Criminal Justice Reform, Gender Equality and other social issues. #Reform is an initiative about turning intentions into action. PUMA actually hosted a panel discussion with Meek, Diggins-Smith and Smith, which took place at The Atlanta History Center in Georgia.
Throughout 2018/19 and beyond, PUMA will be working with #Reform Captains to launch other programs that will promote actions to further the goal of universal equality.
Below are quotes from the panel, in which Meek spoke about educating himself on prison laws, following his release last April. Diggins-Smith also spoke on gender equality reform efforts, especially after the WNBA/NBA pay gap received much attention recently.
Mill — “I sat
down and used my time. I got deep in the books and got into the effects
of how deeply rooted some of these statutes and laws were, keeping
people like myself in and out of prison. I’m basically moving off of
straight experience. I do a lot of speaking engagements, I meet a lot of
powerful people that are interested in reform. So, we connect and they
give me advice and I try to stay on the line with them and always learn
more as we go. That’s how we become stronger.”
Diggins-Smith — “I
try to surround myself with mentors and positive strong women that
inspire me, that think like me. I want to inspire the next generation. I
know that if I have a daughter and I have a son, they’ll never make the
same amount of money in my lifetime or theirs. That’s the common
knowledge that I know. I’m educating myself on the WNBA […] the business
of everything. A lot of my sources come from having these
conversations.”
More info: PUMA’s belief is that to achieve
faster progress, a team is essential. Therefore, PUMA has created
Team#REFORM. This is a collective of individuals who believe that
progress toward universal equality needs to be achieved faster. To lead
Team#REFORM, PUMA has selected Captains, including rapper Meek Mill (who
will focus on criminal justice reform), and WNBA All-Star Skylar
Diggins-Smith (gender equality), alongside Captain Emeritus, Tommie
Smith (universal equality). The brand will also be partnering with
entertainment company Roc Nation to spread the message of #REFORM
through live and social engagement. Future #REFORM Captains will be
named in the coming months.
