Jay-Z and Roc Nation honour George Floyd with full-page adverts in US newspapers

Yesterday (2 June), Jay-Z and his Roc Nation company honoured George Floyd, who died while being detained by police in Minneapolis on 25 May, by paying for full-page adverts in multiple US newspapers, including The New York Times, the Chicago Tribune and the Philadelphia Enquirer.

The advert is signed by the family of Floyd and others who have lost loved ones to police violence, as well as attorneys and activists.

Jay-Z and Roc Nation's advert uses a powerful quote from Martin Luther King, Jr. when he addressed Selma, Alabama, in 1965, "A man dies when he refuses to stand up for that which is right. A man dies when he refuses to stand up for justice. A man dies when he refuses to take a stand for that which is true."

"So we’re going to stand up amid horses," the quote reads. "We’re going to stand up right here, amid the billy-clubs. We’re going to stand up right here amid police dogs, if they have them. We’re going to stand up amid tear gas!"

In dedication to George Floyd. #BlackLivesMatter #JusticeforGeorgeFloyd pic.twitter.com/FT25EBnPHJ

— Team Roc (@teamroc) June 2, 2020

Earlier this week, Jay-Z released a statement on socials asking for justice for the death of George Floyd, "Now I, along with an entire country in pain, call upon AG Ellison to do the right thing and prosecute all those responsible for the murder of George Floyd to the fullest extent of the law."