Posted by Killer Mike gave a tearful speech Friday night (May 29) addressing Atlanta protesters taking the streets after the death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man who died in police custody in Minneapolis, Minn. after a police officer knelt on his neck on Monday.
In the speech, Killer Mike, who calls himself the son of a police officer, discouraged rioting and urged people to "be better than burning down our own homes."
You can view Mike's entire speech below.
In the speech, Mike expresses his own rage at Floyd's death while acknowledging Atlanta's history of racism before urging residents to refrain from destroying city buildings.
"It is your duty not to burn your own house down for anger with an enemy," Mike said at one point of the speech. "It is your duty to fortify your own house so that you may be a house of refuge in times of organization. And now is the time to plot, plan, strategize, organize and mobilize."
Killer Mike's words came during a press conference lead by Atlanta mayor Keisha Bottoms, who demanded that protesters return to their homes amid the riots that have broken out in the city.
Also addressing the matter was T.I., who urged Atlanta residents not to riot. "Atlanta has been here for us," he says in the video clip below, starting at the 4:42-mark. "This city don’t deserve this. However, I understand a lot of other cities do."
Across Atlanta, buildings are being burned. The glass at CNN's Atlanta headquarters was broken and the CNN sign was vandalized.
This news arrives as people across the U.S. riot in response to the death of George Floyd. Floyd was being detained by 44-year-old then-Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin when he died. In footage of the scene, which began circulating on Monday, bystanders can be seen telling Chauvin to remove his knee from Floyd's neck. George Floyd tells the police officer that he can't breathe before seemingly passing out after nearly 10 minutes. Floyd died that same day.
The next day, Floyd and three other officers involved with the scene were fired. Chauvin was arrested and charged with third-degree murder on Friday.
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