Many fans adhere to Prince's call to wear gray "as a symbolic message." http://t.co/qqCjbE9l61 (NPG Records photo) pic.twitter.com/pwuEVxRAfK
— The Baltimore Sun (@baltimoresun) May 11, 2015
Pop legend Prince Rogers Nelson held a 2-hour marathon concert in Baltimore to honor Freddie Gray, the 25-year-old black man who died in police custody on April 19.
Gray’s death sparked 2 weeks of civil unrest and looting in Baltimore and around the country.
Prince performed his latest single, “Baltimore” in tribute to Gray. 16,000 concertgoers heeded Prince’s call to wear Gray in honor of their fallen brother.
“We’re tired of the crying, people dying, let’s take all of the guns away” and “If there win’t no justice then there ain’t no peace,” Prince sang to the capacity crowd. The concert was streamed live on Jay Z’s flop Tidal app.
Jay Z’s attention-starved wife, Beyonce and her entourage of stylists, vegan chefs, and wig keepers, crowded the backstage area. Other invited guests included Beyonce’s mom, Tina Knowles, British singer Estelle, and American singers Alicia Keys and Miguel.
Not one to let a photo op pass her by, Bey posed with Michael Brown’s mother and Eric Garner’s mom. Brown was shot to death by a Ferguson, MO. cop while his hands were in the air in a gesture of surrender, and Garner was strangled to death by a Long Island cop. Both black men were unarmed.
Prince focused national attention of the plight of troubled youth in Baltimore and the larger issue of some in law enforcement who unfairly target those youths.
The system is broken — It’s gonna take the young people to fix it this time. We need new ideas. We need new life. And most of all, we need new peace. And the kind of peace I’m talking about is p-i-e-c-e.”
In related news, Baltimore jail corrections officers turned away over 2,600 jail detainees with serious injuries between June 2012 and July 2015. Jailers refused to accept the detainees until they were seen by doctors first. Jail documents obtained by Fox News shows the detainees were so severely injured in police custody that they required hospitalization. The report stated Baltimore police officers who brought the detainees to jail either were ignorant of the injuries or they didn’t care.
Beyoncé & Jay Z with #FreddieGray's family backstage at Prince's concert last night #Rally4Peace #Baltimore pic.twitter.com/tY842Dck4o
— BEYONCÉ LEGION (@Bey_Legion) May 11, 2015
dont have to be rich #Bmore #Prince https://t.co/mxTxDCCPm1
— Adam McGinnis (@adammcginnis) May 11, 2015
“Baltimore” Lyrics
-
Nobody got in nobody’s way
So I guess you could say
It was a good day
At least a little better than the day in Baltimore
Does anybody hear us pray?
For Michael Brown or Freddie Gray
Peace is more than the absence of war
Absence of war
Are we gonna see another bloody day?
We’re tired of cryin’ and people dyin’
Let’s take all the guns away
Absence of war—you and me
Maybe we can finally say
Enough is enough, it’s time for love
It’s time to hear
It’s time to hear
The guitar play!
More from Sandrarose.com:
