Chicago City Wire

Kenwood-based community activist Paul McKinley says Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker's criticism of Kanye West is part of "a racist movement against another black man."

He said Pritzker should "shut up" and stay out of the controversy of West's comments, which Pritzker says are "anti-semitic."

“We believe that Gov. Pritzker should shut up," McKinley said, during a press conference on Friday Oct. 28. "He cannot speak on our community. This is the point we’re making. This didn’t have anything to do with Gov. Pritzker. He wants to interject. By injecting himself politically involved with this that will make people not want to vote for him."

Community activists Paul McKinley and Harold "Noonie" Ward" said Gov. J.B. Pritzker ignores Chicago's black community. | The Southland Journal/Youtube

"This is not really a black or white argument. This is an argument of rich people using Jim Crow tactics against a black man. And so it’s become racist," McKinley said.

McKinley and former Chicago aldermanic candidate Harold "Noonie" Ward said they held a press availability, titled "We stand with Kanye West," because they wanted to defend the "local great" West against criticism by Pritzker and others. Both said the governor ignores the black community until election time.

"The only time I see him is when he comes down here around election time," said Ward. "He's the governor of this great state, and (he) cannot stop the violence? (He's) got the best police force the world, and I cannot stop the violence? You cannot stop it because its by design— you aren’t trying to stop it."

"Governor Pritzker hasn’t done anything with all the violence in our community… with all the problems we’ve got in our community," McKinley said.

Since Pritzker became governor, 14,336 have been shot and 2,732 murdered in Chicago, according to HeyJackass.com. 80 percent of shooting victims are black.