A CAMPAIGN TO GET KANYE WEST INVOLVED
Kanye WestHundreds of people have joined a popular campaign on Change.org calling on hip hop artist Kanye West, currently in Alabama preparing for a nationwide tour, to meet with civil rights leaders and speak out against the state’s controversial new immigration law.
William Anderson, a student at the University of Alabama Birmingham and a long-time fan of Kanye West, launched the campaign on Change.org after learning that the famous musician was spending the month in Birmingham, Alabama, in preparation for his “Watch the Throne” tour with fellow hip hop artist Jay-Z.
"Like thousands of Kanye fans, I grew up listening to hip hop, and it was one of the things that shaped my consciousness about race and justice,” said William Anderson, who launched the campaign on Change.org. “Alabama’s new immigration law is an attack on the state's citizens, documented and undocumented. In the spirit of the social justice and hip hop, I hope that Kanye listens to his fans and takes a few minutes to learn and educate others about the crisis that is happening in Alabama.”
The law in question, HB 56, has been called the nation’s most extreme immigration law by civil rights leaders in Alabama, who have likened the measure to Alabama’s Jim Crow laws from the previous century. Since HB 56 was signed into law, civil rights advocates have reported that crops are rotting in the fields without workers to pick them, schools have recorded above-average absence rates, and residents have begun to leave the state.
News of the growing momentum around Anderson’s online campaign is likely to put pressure on Kanye West to speak out against the immigration law. Within 24 hours of the campaign’s launch, William Anderson had recruited hundreds of supporters on Change.org, the world’s fastest growing platform for social change.
“What William Anderson has accomplished in just a few days is remarkable,” said Change.org Director of Organizing Jackie Mahendra. “A student with no budget – armed only with a laptop and determination – has managed to recruit more than 750 supporters who are asking Kanye West to comment on the most controversial civil rights issue in Alabama’s recent history while he’s there. Change.org is about empowering people to take action on the issues that matter to them, and it’s been incredible to watch William do just that.”
Kanye West will be in Alabama until October 28.
Live signature totals from William Anderson’s campaign are here:
Photo By: RD/Orchon/Retna
William Anderson, a student at the University of Alabama Birmingham and a long-time fan of Kanye West, launched the campaign on Change.org after learning that the famous musician was spending the month in Birmingham, Alabama, in preparation for his “Watch the Throne” tour with fellow hip hop artist Jay-Z.
"Like thousands of Kanye fans, I grew up listening to hip hop, and it was one of the things that shaped my consciousness about race and justice,” said William Anderson, who launched the campaign on Change.org. “Alabama’s new immigration law is an attack on the state's citizens, documented and undocumented. In the spirit of the social justice and hip hop, I hope that Kanye listens to his fans and takes a few minutes to learn and educate others about the crisis that is happening in Alabama.”
The law in question, HB 56, has been called the nation’s most extreme immigration law by civil rights leaders in Alabama, who have likened the measure to Alabama’s Jim Crow laws from the previous century. Since HB 56 was signed into law, civil rights advocates have reported that crops are rotting in the fields without workers to pick them, schools have recorded above-average absence rates, and residents have begun to leave the state.
News of the growing momentum around Anderson’s online campaign is likely to put pressure on Kanye West to speak out against the immigration law. Within 24 hours of the campaign’s launch, William Anderson had recruited hundreds of supporters on Change.org, the world’s fastest growing platform for social change.
“What William Anderson has accomplished in just a few days is remarkable,” said Change.org Director of Organizing Jackie Mahendra. “A student with no budget – armed only with a laptop and determination – has managed to recruit more than 750 supporters who are asking Kanye West to comment on the most controversial civil rights issue in Alabama’s recent history while he’s there. Change.org is about empowering people to take action on the issues that matter to them, and it’s been incredible to watch William do just that.”
Kanye West will be in Alabama until October 28.
Live signature totals from William Anderson’s campaign are here:
Photo By: RD/Orchon/Retna
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