"Are we really pushing the right laws in our communities? Are you really voting for the right senator in your community? Are you voting for the right mayor?"
These were the questions posed by musician Wyclef Jean during his July 17 interview with "RapFix" on the shooting of 17-year old Trayvon Martin in a murder trial that rocked the nation, MTV News reports. The trial, in which George Zimmerman was acquitted without even a manslaughter charge, left thousands of Americans angry, confused and upset, the outcome raising plenty of questions about race relations in the U.S.
During the "RapFix" interview, Wyclef Jean sat with Prodigy, president of non-profit BK Nation, and high-profile New York defense attorney Stacey Richman to speak with MTV News correspondent Sway Calloway in a discussion of the aftermath of the controversial trial verdict.
At the end of the show, Wyclef Jean performed his song dedicated to Martin, "Justice (If You're 17)" after urging viewers, especially frustrated youth, to get involved in local politics and help change laws that may prevent a similar outcome in the future.
"The real celebrity is you...you authorize me and you give me the power and you make me famous and you are millions," he said. "So imagine if you took that same energy and decided that you want to go change a law in congress. The power is not in the celebrity...the power is in the numbers and the communities."
The lyrics in Wyclef Jean's new song urges teens to seek justice for Martin through peaceful political action, fighting with your mind, and laments how the young teen could have been the next president, astronaut or Steve Jobs.
"We're dissatisfied from this verdict because it doesn't feel right, but the jury did their job," said Richman during the interview, a retired lawyer who has represented the likes of Lil Wayne and Ja Rule. "They followed the jury instructions; that's what they did, but you need to be involved in the process."
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