Rappers Snoop Dogg and The Game led an impromptu, peaceful march to Los Angeles Police Department headquarters Friday morning, calling for dialogue with law enforcement about its relationships with minority communities.
The two planned the march early Friday morning and announced it via The Game’s Instagram inviting men of all races—but specifically minorities—to join them in marching from a parking lot to LAPD headquarters on the same day the police department graduated its newest class of officers.
The Game, born Jayceon Taylor, said they want the California government to be aware of an issue that has “plagued” blacks “for hundreds of years.”
“We will be UNIFIED as minorities & we will no longer allow them to hunt us or be hunted by us !!! Let’s erase the fear of one another on both sides & start something new here in the city of Los Angeles, a city we all love & share !” the rapper wrote on his Instagram.
About 50 men showed up to the demonstration, many of them wearing shirts with H.U.N.T on them, standing for ‘hate us not today.’ Snoop Dogg posted a video of the crew making its way to the police station.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BHmyd2-hZEW/
Both rappers sat in a conference room with a handful of officers to discuss the future of police relations in minority communities. Snoop and The Game also stood with Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck in a press conference following the meeting. Beck called for a de-escalation of violence in L.A.
Snoop Dogg and The Game met with the LAPD to rebuild relations with police https://t.co/J2vPxHfMBT pic.twitter.com/0NETRHWYFw
— BuzzFeed (@BuzzFeed) July 8, 2016
https://twitter.com/KarenCivil/status/751497612688261122
The demonstration comes in the wake of the shooting of two black men, 37-year-old Alton Sterling and 32-year-old Philando Castile. Both men were killed at the hands of police in the same week, igniting protests around the country. One protest in Dallas turned deadly Thursday when a sniper shot 12 officers, killing 5. The shooter was identified as 25-year-old Micah Xavier Johnson. The Game shared his thoughts on the peaceful protest gone bad with the Los Angeles Times.
“I would be lying to you if I didn’t say I was saddened by what happened in Dallas. I would be lying to you if I didn’t say I was angered about what occurred in Minnesota and Louisiana and Fresno,” he said. “The cops that died in Dallas weren’t the cops that shot and killed Philando or Alton. As much as Philando and Alton didn’t deserve that, those cops in Dallas didn’t deserve that. And the only thing I could think of was to initiate peace on both sides, so that’s why I’m here.”