Nicholas Hunt/Getty Images for TIDALMeek Mill, CNN host Van Jones, and Kim Kardashian will be among the participants at the first Criminal Justice Reform Summit presented by Rolling Stone and Variety.
Jones will be the keynote speaker for the November 14 event at the Jeremy Hotel in Los Angeles, which will explore the failings of the American criminal justice system.
“Not only do we face a mass incarceration problem in the United States, but almost 60 percent of inmates currently in prison or jail are racial and ethnic minorities,” Jones says, “Uncovering the roots of this national issue and creating a diverse advocacy community is a huge step toward generating legitimate policy change.”
Mill is now free on bail and fighting for a new trial to prove that his 2008 conviction on gun and drug charges should be overturned.
The rapper initially served an eight-month sentence followed by probation. In November 2017, he was sentenced to two to four years in prison for parole violations, resulting in a wide public outcry. In April of this year, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court granted his release on bail.
On Tuesday, Meek performed at JAY-Z’s TIDAL X: Brooklyn concert at Barclays Center in New York City, which raised money to support non-profits working for criminal justice.
Kardashian was invited to the summit because she met with President Donald Trump at the White House in September to discuss prison reform, and aided in the early release of Alice Marie Johnson, who spent 21 years in prison for a first-time drug offense.
Hip-hop pioneer Fab 5 Freddy, who was the first host of MTV’s Yo! MTV Raps in 1988, will also serve as a panelist for the event.
Copyright © 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
