Atlanta-based rapper and activist Michael “Killer Mike” Render endorsed Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders for president at a rally on Monday, Nov. 23 in Atlanta. After spending the evening together — with the two even seen ordering a meal at Busy Bee restaurant in a picture posted on Twitter — he was sold on lending the Democratic candidate his support.
“Senator Sanders is the truth. He is what this country needs, and I am going to give him my full support,” Killer Mike said on HuffPost Live.
Sanders marched for equality alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the ‘60s, and according to Killer Mike, the presidential hopeful has a lot of the same views on various social issues as the late civil rights leader. He said that this would qualify Sanders to be a great leader for the country.
“The reason I know I’m firmly with Senator Sanders is because after having a discussion with him yesterday about the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King … when Dr. King died, he didn’t die directly post- ‘I Have a Dream,’ ” the rapper explained. “He died with a set of plans and a goal. His goal was the poor people’s March on Washington, and his goal was to bring attention to the war machine that was financing the Vietnam War. The only person that has consistently lined up with King’s vision of social justice and people before corporations and the importance of honoring the poor and making sure they can rise above poverty is Bernie Sanders.”
He continued that much like Dr. King, Sanders understands that true freedom means looking beyond only racial issues.
“Dr. King died talking about more than police brutality,” Killer Mike said. “He died talking about more than Black Lives Matter and desegregation, and all these things matter, but he understood that these things are interlinked.
“If you are pro-Black, you have to be anti-war. If you’re anti-war, you have to be pro-marriage rights for everyone. If you’re pro-marriage rights for everyone, you have to be pro-women getting an equal wage. Everything we’re fighting for … is interconnected,” he added. “In order for me to say freedom, justice, and equality matter, in order for us to say voting matters, I have to make sure that I’m interconnected with brothers and sisters who don’t look like me.”
The hip-hop artist ended by reiterating that with Sanders as the president of the United States, the country would get “an extension of Dr. King’s philosophies, and not just being sold a dream.”
Killer Mike joins a long list of famous figures who have endorsed Sanders, including Sarah Silverman, Will Ferrell, Susan Sarandon and Steve Wozniak.
