Like many Gen X’ers, Michael Render, pka Killer Mike, has lived through arguably the most economically disparate time in our country’s short history. He’s also a black man from Atlanta. In a nutshell, he represents the most disenfranchised voter; the ones who have watched politicians propped up by corporate funding redirect our tax dollars to private coffers, all while the rules and restrictions on voting—especially in the South—have made the simple act of casting your opinion—the foundation of our country and the ultimate symbol of “All men are created equal”—a laborious chore.
While the reasons to vote for Bernie Sanders over the other corporate yes-men in the 2016 elections are many, Killer Mike makes it very clear in his introduction speech that it really comes down to one simple question: How long must we watch our hard-earned money turned into economic subsidies that propel war and poverty until we act? Channeling Martin Luther King Jr., Mike points towards the great reverend’s war on poverty and violence that is strikingly similar to what we face as a nation today:
What I am talking about today is Martin King post the Washington march. Martin King on the war on poverty. Martin King against the war machine that uses your sons and your nephews to go to other lands and murder. I have no time in my short 40 years on this Earth to relive the Reagan years. I have no desire to see us elect our own Margaret Thatcher.
I am here as a proponent of the liberal revolution that says healthcare is a right. I am here because working class and poor people deserve a chance at economic freedom. And yes, you work 40 hours a week – and you should not be in poverty.
Watch Killer Mike’s full introduction of Bernie Sanders in Atlanta below, and feel the Bern.
