Kanye West stepped out to add his presence to the George Floyd protesters in Chicago on Thursday, Page Six reported. The 42-year-old often courts controversy when he speaks out about his political opinions, and while he didn’t make any statements about the Floyd demonstrations, he was quietly present with others as they expressed their outrage and sadness at police brutality and racism in the United States.
Apparently, West called protest organizers in the city and let them know he wanted to participate in an event, but some people expressed concern with a celebrity taking the center stage, rather than allowing the youth-led march to proceed as planned.
So West, who has remained silent on Floyd’s death, marched anonymously on the city’s South Side as people rallied to remove Chicago Police from the city’s public schools.
USA Today reporter Grace Hauck broke the news of West’s attendance as she attended the rally. Images show him wearing a gray hoodie with the hood pulled over his head and a black mask that covered most of his face.
“Kanye West is here at a ‘Justice for George Floyd/CPD out of CPS’ rally on Chicago’s South Side, where protesters plan to walk to CPD headquarters. Organizers say West called yesterday and said he wanted to join a protest,” she tweeted .
She also showed video of the protest as press began to swarm West. Organizers pushed back, saying the event wasn’t about West.
Chicago organizer Alycia Kamil, 19, tells marchers to stay together and reminds CDP that there are children in the crowd. (Kayne is several yards back in the crowd.) pic.twitter.com/xP20Ee8WkQ
— Grace Hauck (@grace_hauck) June 5, 2020
Reportedly, the rapper left the march after about 30 minutes or so.
While he has stayed silent, he hasn’t stayed out of the matter entirely. He set up a college fund for Floyd’s daughter Gianna and has donated $2 million to help black-owned businesses in Chicago and other cities. Part of those funds are also meant to assist the families of Floyd and Breonna Taylor, who was killed by police when they executed a search warrant on her home. The money will go to the family of Ahmaud Arbery as well. Abrery was killed in February by two white men while out jogging.
West’s wife, Kim Kardashian, has offered financial assistance to protesters injured by police when law enforcement used rubber bullets to disperse a crowd of demonstrators.
The rapper has famously been a supporter of President Donald Trump, who has faced intense criticism for his handling of the protests over Floyd’s death. Most notably, his administration reportedly had law enforcement use tear gas and pepper balls to remove a crowd of protesters near the White House so he could pose in front of St. John’s Church, Lafayette Square with a Bible.
