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How the Dayton Police Tried to Silence My Voice [VIDEO]

April 19, 2013 By

Jasiri-Chief BielDayton Chief of Police Richard Biel and Jasiri X at the Dear Dr. Hip-Hop: Speak, Be Heard, Be Considered event in Dayton, Ohio. Photo by  Andrew-Bryce Hudson (www.andrew-bryce.net) 

This weekend, I had an opportunity to speak and perform in Dayton, OH, with the legendary MC Lyte at an event called, “Dear Dr. Hip-Hop: Speak, Be Heard, Be Considered.” A few days before arriving, I got a call from one of the organizers telling me that the Dayton Police Department had a “problem” with some of my lyrics and demanded to know what songs I was going to perform before they would secure the venue.

Being that this wasn’t the first time a group tried to censor me, I immediately got on the phone with my lawyer who advised me on what action I needed to take.  I sent this email as my response:

Here are the links to my music and videos. I reserve the right to perform any one of these songs. There is not one lyric in any of these songs that advocates or calls for any kind of violence, especially towards law enforcement. Nor do I advocate or condone violence in our community, violence against women, or drug abuse like many rap artists. I’m a Hip-Hop artist and community activist that has dedicated my life to mentoring young men in our community to be peaceful and law abiding citizens. I have never had one incident of violence at any of the many shows, panels, or lectures I’ve done all over the world. It is the responsibility of the Dayton Police Department to provide a safe environment for the citizens they are obligated to serve and protect. I will consider any form of censorship an infringement on my constitutional right to free speech, and will forward any further communication on this issue to my lawyer. 
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Here I am, an artist that uses Hip-Hop to uplift my community, and I’m the one they have a problem with? I’m sure they are upset at the fact that I use my music to speak about issues of injustice like the police killing of Oscar Grant, the brutal beating of Jordan Miles, the unconstitutional racial profiling policy called Stop and Frisk, and the fact that a Black person is killed every 36 hours by police, security guards, or people posing as neighborhood watch like George Zimmerman.  Instead of protecting my rights to speak truth to the people of Dayton, they would rather silence me, as if that will make the problem go away.
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The police are quick to say we shouldn’t judge them by a “few bad apples”, but then push policies like Stop and Frisk that paints our entire community as criminals because of a few bad apples. One police sergeant just thought it was OK to bring targets that looked like Trayvon Martin to a gun range. Dayton’s Police Department has it’s own share of controversy. In 2011, police officers claimed a man named Kylen English, who was handcuffed in the back of a police car, used his head to break the window, climb out of the police car then jump over a bridge to his death. English’s family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city.
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What we need for a real relationship is not silencing voices that are critical of police policies that negatively effect our community. Nor do we need another forum where police listen then get up from the table and do the same things the community complains about. We need a equal partnership. We need police to admit their mistakes, not make up unbelievable stories to justify their wrong doing. We need bad cops fired and replaced, not protected and promoted.
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In Dayton I met a wonderful community of committed educators, entrepreneurs,  artists, and activists working daily to stop the violence and empower the youth. I hope the Dayton Police Department decides to be part of that community, instead of an occupying force.
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Comments

  1. rongreezy says
    April 19, 2013 at 11:07 am

    Reblogged this on The Music Nerdvocate and commented:
    Jasiri X always has something valid and honest to say, especially through his music. This post is no exception.

  2. Khayam Clark says
    April 19, 2013 at 1:22 pm

    Only those who speak the truth are the one’s they have a problem and its because of their own actions. If there were no dirty cops Jasiri X would not be droppin science on the issue. The Police’s responsibility is to serve and protect not beat and murder. Do your job and we’re not having this conversation.

  3. Chris says
    April 19, 2013 at 5:45 pm

    God almighty… they want to censor this guy and not scumbags like Rick Ross. What is the world coming to. Any fabric of decency in society is against the grain nowadays. A damned shame.

  4. Rick Ricci says
    April 21, 2013 at 8:22 pm

    wow this is crazy

  5. Jason says
    April 22, 2013 at 5:29 am

    http://youtu.be/3sm33sItrHQ From Prison To Hollywood “Soul Survivor”

  6. JC says
    April 22, 2013 at 9:15 pm

    At The Fraternal Police Headquarters in Wash DC there is only one statue on the lawn, a nine foot depiction of Albert Pike, Grand of the Ku Klux Klan. That should clear the matter up for all concerned in this matter.

  7. sanunan@hotmail.com says
    April 28, 2013 at 6:20 am

    Umm….just watched a video of what I guess is one of your rap “songs”. The one where you think you are tough and advocating that you fine, upstanding black people start another LA riot. I wouldn’t want you in my town either, and if I was a cop I sure as hell wouldn’t want to provide security to anyone who is there to condone all the like minded criminals in town to riot when they think the evil white man has wronged them.

    And also seeing how you are a blatant racist and make money off perpetuating the black/white hate you deserve to be censored. You are in the same category of sharpton, Farakhan, Jackson, etc and your hate filled speech deserves every bit of censoring you get. If this was a white person condoning violence and riots against blacks, would you have a problem with it?

    Free speech is not universally guranteed. Publicly yelling into a mic, out of key and offbeat, with no instruments or talent whatsoever (rap) is not an excuse to spew your hatred ignorance. Maybe if you all got jobs instead of sitting around complaining about all of us white people. Remember…..someone has to keep paying in all these taxes to keep the welfare system going so you can listen to all these dope beats on your free phones.

  8. Nelson O'Neil Rios says
    May 1, 2013 at 12:42 am

    Those who speak truth gets shut down while others don’t.

    Beats for Sale

Trackbacks

  1. How the Dayton Police Tried to Silence My Voice [VIDEO] | Davey D’s Hip Hop Corner | serious2020 says:
    April 22, 2013 at 6:23 am

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