Over the weekend, Chance the Rapper sent a powerful message to his followers as he live-streamed a traffic stop. While the country remains politically and social divided, the musician proved that he shares the same fear of police brutality as people of color nationwide.
Chance was driving in Chicago with his daughter Kensli and her mother, Kirsten Corley, when they were pulled over, PEOPLE reports. The rapper immediately took out his phone to record the incident on his Instagram story, saying, “You can’t be too careful.”
Chance first told Corley, “I’m not playing around,” and for good reason. Before the officer approached the car, he explained to his viewers, “Just want y’all to be here in case it gets out of hand. Should be good though. Should be straight. I have great faith in humanity and the men and women that put on the badge.”
He later explained that the family was coming from church, and that there were no weapons or drugs in the car. PEOPLE confirms that the officer delivered Corley a warning for a moving violation, to which Chance commented, “See, I knew he was a good dude.” But as he said in the video, “policing as a system is disproportionately racist and oppressive,” which explains why the father was so cautious in this moment.
As Refinery29 reports, this video comes just weeks after Cardi B shared her terrifying experience with the NYPD. The rising rapper claimed in a since deleted tweet that she was put in a chokehold after an incident with another driver.
These instances prove that celebrity status does not protect people of color from falling victim to social injustice. Chance the Rapper’s video is a reminder that police brutality is a very real problem and that people of color have a constant fear of dealing with law enforcement officials. Football players across the country are taking a knee for this reason, but the fear will not subside so long as the nation remains so intensely divided.