Snoop Dogg led a march on LAPD headquarters Friday to protest the police killings of minority men, a day after five police officers were killed and seven wounded during a rally in Dallas.
Snoop Dogg and fellow rapper the Game, who joined the demonstration, took steps to make sure their political statement wouldn’t be marred by violence.
“Calling: ALL AFRICAN AMERICAN MEN, MEXICAN AMERICAN MEN & any other RACE of REAL MEN with heart to stand with us today & walk peacefully to the LAPD headquarters,” the Game wrote on Instagram. “Do not: bring any weapons or anything illegal. Do not come high or belligerent.”
The Game added, “Objective: to make the Californian government & its law branches aware that from today forward, 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 gathering coincided with a graduation ceremony for LAPD recruits, the Los Angeles Times reports, though organizers were unaware of that when planning the event.
Snoop Dogg posted his own video from LAPD headquarters, showing the gathered crowd.
“We’re gonna get some dialogue with the LAPD and the new recruits in the graduating class of 2016,” said the rapper, whose real name is Calvin Broadus.
“This is how you make moves, man, you make it happen,” he continued. “You get some dialogue and some understanding with the new recruits before they hit the streets so that they know that we’re just like them … we’re trying to live and go home and get some understanding. So we advise you all to do the same. Follow protocol.”
The Dallas shootings occurred as hundreds of people were marching in downtown Dallas in response to the police killings this week of two unarmed African American men: Alton Sterling early Tuesday in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Philando Castile near St. Paul, Minnesota.
Police have identified one of the shooters as as 25-year-old Micah Xavier Johnson of Mesquite, Texas. Johnson was killed by a bomb robot after he refused to surrender, fired on police and threatened to kill more officers, police said.
Operation H.U.N.T Meet NOW at Joe’s auto park parking 1221 west 3rd street Los Angeles California 90017 Calling: ALL AFRICAN AMERICAN MEN, MEXICAN AMERICAN MEN & any other RACE of REAL MEN with heart to stand with us today & walk peacefully to the LAPD headquarters. [LEAVE ALL WOMEN & CHILDREN AT HOME… THIS IS OUR MISSION FOR THEM] Do not: bring any weapons or anything illegal. Do not come high or belligerent.. We don’t need any HOT HEADS or anyone there for the wrong reasons… We will stand as we are, UNIFIED. I’m calling ALL GANGS, ALL RACES, ALL GROWN MEN affiliated or not & WE WILL STAND UNIFIED tomorrow !!!! Our numbers are all the weapons we need !!! We do not need to be dumb, retarded or uncivilized today… ALL WE NEED IS EACH OTHER… I will not lead any of you into a trap !!!!! Objective: to make the Californian government & it’s law branches aware that from today forward, 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 ! There are many things that have to be done to rectify this situation that has plagued us for hundreds of years & UNIFICATION is the 1st step !!! Again, I’m asking for ALL of my AFRICAN AMERICAN, MEXICAN AMERICAN & any other AMERICAN who has the heart to STAND WITH US to meet us at the above address & take the 1st step into altering our future for our children & our FAMILIES….I LOVE EVERY ONE OF YOU & WE OWE IT TO OURSELVES & OUR FAMILIES TO BE MEN & TAKE A STAND MY BROTHERS.. THE TIME IS NOW – The Game ??”? @derekdidit