A Fireside Chat with Meek Mill
In this compelling moderated conversation, Grammy-nominated recording artist, entrepreneur, and criminal justice reform advocate MEEK MILL shares his journey from being Philadelphia’s hottest underground rapper to one of the world’s preeminent musical artists, and how he handled the challenges and opportunities along the way. Since an arrest spurred the international #FreeMeekMill movement, Meek has also been a passionate advocate for criminal justice reform and uses his platform to discuss these important issues with a wide audience.
#FreeMeekMill and the Future of Criminal Justice Reform
Internationally renowned recording artist and entrepreneur MEEK MILL is a powerful advocate for criminal justice reform, after serving time in prison following a wrongful arrest. His last incarceration in 2017 spurred the international #FreeMeekMill movement, which eventually led to his original conviction being overturned. Meek shares his insights about his personal experience in the system, generates awareness around the problems, and highlights how these problems disproportionately affect multicultural communities in this riveting program.
Robert “Meek Mill” Williams is a Grammy-nominated recording artist, entrepreneur and criminal justice reform advocate that hails from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Meek evolved from Philadelphia’s hottest underground rapper to one of the world’s preeminent musical artists, having released a slew of smash studio albums and singles, including “Ima Boss,” “Dreams and Nightmares (Intro),” and “Going Bad,” among many others. His last studio album, Championships, debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s “Top 200 Albums” chart, marking his second chart-topper following his 2015 album, Dreams Worth More Than Money.
Until July 2019, Meek had been entrapped in the criminal justice system and shuffled through the prison system over technical probation violations – all despite never committing a crime as a probationer and a wrongful arrest. At his trial, Meek maintained his innocence on all but one charge, but his arresting officer – who has since been discredited – was the lone testifying witness in the case. As a result of the officer’s testimony, Meek was sentenced to 11-23 months in prison with probation that had been unreasonably extended for over a decade.
His last incarceration in November 2017 spurred the international #FreeMeekMill movement, which ultimately resulted in his release on bail in April 2018 and eventually led to his original conviction being overturned. Through it all, Meek has since used his public platform to generate awareness around the problems within the criminal justice system and highlight how they disproportionately affect multicultural communities.
Beyond his work in criminal justice, Meek also serves as the President of Dream Chasers, his exclusive record label that is part of a joint venture with Roc Nation. Additionally, Mill is a co-owner of sports apparel retailer Lids, the largest retail seller of hats and licensed sports product in North America.
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