Philadelphia declares March 15-17 'Meek Mill Weekend'
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Robert Rihmeek Williams, known better as rapper Meek Mill, was honored by Philadelphia City Council on Thursday.
A council resolution described the 31-year-old entertainer raised in North Philadelphia as a critically acclaimed multiplatinum hip-hop artist, songwriter, entrepreneur, actor, and criminal justice advocate."
The resolution said since 2007, Mill had been entrapped in the criminal justice system because of technical probation violations.
Mill was originally convicted in 2008 for drug dealing and firearm possession. He spent eight months in jail then released on five years parole.
Subsequently, he was re-arrested and jailed for a parole violation in 2014.
In 2017 he was sentenced to two to four years in prison for again violating his parole.
That 2017 sentence brought accusations of irregularities in the behavior of the judge in the case.
In 2018 Mill was released from prison.
Since his release, Mill has teamed up with high-profile business owners and social reformers to fight for changes in the criminal justice system which they say disproportionally impact people of color.
Mill co-chairs The Reform Alliance. The goal is to reduce the number of people affected by parole and probation law by one million over the next five years.
Mill thanked City Council for the resolution declaring March 15-17 as Meek Mill Weekend.
He referenced his efforts for reform saying, "As you know the situation I have been through, a lot of people didn't know, when I came home I was focused on really trying to give young kids like me a fair shot coming up in the system."
Mill is performing in Philadelphia this weekend with two shows scheduled at the Met Philadelphia on North Broad Street.
