On July 29, Cleveland State University protestors surrounded a police auto and repeatedly chanted the chorus to “Alright”, Kendrick Lamar’s song from To Pimp a Butterfly.
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Police had officers detained a 14-year-old black boy for alleged public intoxication, and following his arrest, protesters surrounded the officers and blocked the police cruiser’s path. Shortly after, the activists began chanting “Alright“, as seen in the below video.
The description for the video posted to YouTube reads: “Today after the ending of the convening as everyone was walking down the street CPD arrested a 14 yr old”.
Student protesters used the rapper’s latest single about hope and staying strong in tough circumstances as a cry for solidarity. Police said the juvenile was intoxicated to the point where he was unable to care for himself.
Police escorted the youth from the bus to a bus shelter on Euclid Avenue at East 24th Street.
“Transit Police followed normal procedure, which is – after police collect pertinent information, juveniles are transported to police headquarters to await release to a parent or legal guardian“, Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA) issued in a statement about the incident. They were then met by a large crowd, many of whom were attendees of the university conference. As they approached the scene and began to protest, Walsh was moved into the back of a police cruiser. They say he was then “peacefully removed” and taken to a nearby “bus shelter”. By this time, several other law enforcement agencies had also responded. The crowd kept the police vehicle from leaving the area.
Instead the boy received medical attention from an EMS unit before being released directly to his mother.
Currently, the report claims that the incident is still under investigation.
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Lamar’s “Alright“, which features the lyrics “We gon’ be alright”, was a source of controversy when the emcee performed the song atop a vandalized police auto at the BET Awards last month.
