Meek Mill Says There's a Mental Health Crisis in the U.S. Following Philadelphia Shooting

The Philly rapper pointed to uneven media coverage of two killings, urging focus on mental health instead of race when addressing violence.

Rapper Meek Mill wearing a Philadelphia Eagles cap and jacket, making a hand gesture at a sports event.
Image via Emilee Chinn/Getty Images

Meek Mill is urging people to focus on America's growing mental health crisis instead of framing violent crimes strictly through race.

On Wednesday, the Philadelphia rapper weighed in after a pair of tragedies, one in his hometown and another in Charlotte, sparked uneven coverage online.

Responding to a tweet that showed a white man allegedly fatally shooting a Black woman in Philadelphia, Meek questioned why the story drew little attention compared to a case in Charlotte, North Carolina, where a Black man was accused of stabbing a white Ukrainian refugee.

"It's a mental health crisis going on and they making it about race or color... this woman was killed downtown center city by a bum in Philly ... Why is the white woman getting stabbed by a black man the only story running heavily.. violence is violence! Rip to them too!" Meek wrote.

Meek argued that focusing on the racial dynamics of crimes obscures the bigger issue: untreated mental illness and its role in violent acts across the country.

The Dreams and Nightmares rapper has often used his platform to highlight systemic issues, from criminal justice reform to poverty.

He has released songs that address mental health, such as "Trauma" and "Survivor's Guilt," to process grief and struggle, and shared his personal experiences with addiction and the toll incarceration took on his mental health.

Last year, Meek tweeted, "Mental health awareness is very important amongst us from seeing so much on these phones! Stay strong chin up chest out!"

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