Rapper Kanye West, who has been very vocal about his own ‘godlike status,’ in years gone by, has recently fully converted to Christianity. Kanye released his latest album ‘Jesus Is King’ two days ago. The album is, in his own words, “an expression of the gospel.” Now that Kanye see’s Jesus as king, rather than himself, he’s become somewhat of an activist.
West’s wife Kim Kardashian-West, has been a huge activist for prison reform. Kim has been involved in the release of 47 people who were incarcerated for longer than they should have been. When you think of the Kardashian family, your mind doesn’t exactly jump to intelligence, social awareness or philanthropy. But, you have to hand it to Kim; she has used her power and status to help people who have fallen through the cracks of the prison and legal system.
Inmate, 39, convicted of murder when he was 16 will walk free after 23 years behind bars after Kim Kardashian advocated for his release https://t.co/iL7yk8OXVN
— Daily Mail Celebrity (@DailyMailCeleb) October 5, 2019
Clearly, her husband is jumping on board to make some serious change in the American prison reform system. Last week for Kim’s birthday, Kanye donated $1 million to prison reform charities in her and her children’s names.
I got amazing gifts from my whole family and Kanye for me the most amazing bags. But he also donated $1 million to my favorite charities that work so hard on prison reform on my behalf from him and the kids. This makes my heart so happy! pic.twitter.com/chNkyPRQGW
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) October 22, 2019
Kim announced in April of this year that she was going to university to study law. She apparently aims to sit the bar exams in 2022. Since beginning her law degree, she has worked alongside President Trump to discuss changes to the prison reform system. She has also teamed up with campaign ’90 Days of Freedom’ and is producing a documentary on the issue. Believe what you want to believe, but Kim is not just a pretty face. (Or booty.)
Kim Kardashian and President Trump Discussing Prison Reform at White House https://t.co/6HgXuTExtb
— TMZ (@TMZ) June 13, 2019
In line with his album drop, Kanye has announced that he is bringing Yeezy manufacturing to the US. This is in an effort to aid prison and job reform. The rapper claims that he will be building factories in the US and will be using the prison reform system to hire his employees. “For me, as a founder, it’s really important to bring these jobs back to America,” he said. This is a pragmatic response to an ongoing problem.
The bottom line is, America has the highest incarceration rate in the entire world. According to CNN 655 people out of every 100,000 in America are behind bars. Approximately $80 billion is spent each year on corrective facilities, which based on statistics, appear to be doing more harm than good. A 2016 study showed that more than half of the offenders released from the prison system were later rearrested for new crimes or breaches of their supervision conditions.
Image Source: CNN
The facts show all of the many flaws in the American prison systems and yet we have been yet to see real change. Trump has teamed up with Kanye and signed a criminal justice bill called ‘First Step Act,’ a few months ago, which allowed thousands of non-violent offenders to gain early release from Federal prison. However, it is the reform for criminals that are still incarcerated that is most important. While the Trump administration are slowly introducing different programs to aid reform, Kim and Kanye’s actions are actually creating the greatest difference. Their donations and creation of jobs for prison reformers will hopefully work towards breaking a vicious cycle.
Image Sources: Twitter, CNN
