As thousands of Black Live Matter supporters flooded Los Angeles streets over the weekend, rising artist Chika was one of the many who were arrested for protesting against the White police officer who killed George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Known for her fiery lyricism on everything from Kanye West to women’s rights, Chika and her manager Krystle Hartsfield were demonstrating against social injustices at Trader Joes at Fairfax and 3rd in Los Angeles. On Instagram, the rapper documented her time protesting and her interaction with police, which included the moment she was put in handcuffs.
“I’m in here because I watched them put their hands on my manager as she was trying to leave,” said Chika, who explained she told the officer her manager was leaving and therefore no longer actively protesting. But then the 23-year-old heard an officer say, “get her too.”
Chika, who was born to Nigerian-American parents and raised in Alabama, was handcuffed and detained for seven hours. She said she was cited for “failing to disperse;” the artist has a court date set for October.
“No one on this bus did anything wrong. Every single person in here is in here unlawfully… but I’m okay though. I’m f–king okay though,” Chika said.
She was not the only celebrity protesting this weekend. Tessa Thompson, Michael B. Jordan, Nick Cannon, Kehlani, J. Cole, Lil Yachty, Tinashe and more were advocating in support of Black Lives Matter throughout the country. At the same Los Angeles location where Chika was arrested, Insecure actor Kendrick Sampson was hit by rubber bullets from LAPD.
Hear Chika’s full account of her experience, here.