Attorney Ben Crump (L), Cook County State's Attorney Candidate Clayton Harris, III (M), and Tony Romanucci (R) | Twitter.com
Attorney Ben Crump (L), Cook County State's Attorney Candidate Clayton Harris, III (M), and Tony Romanucci (R) | Twitter.com
Cook County State's Attorney candidate Clayton Harris, III is touting the endorsement of Ben Crump, a celebrity lawyer who recently accused whites of tailoring laws to "criminalize.. black culture."
Crump visited Chicago and endorsed Harris over his opponent, Eileen O'Neill Burke, on Feb. 16.
"We can get rid of all the crime in America overnight, just like that," Crump said in a Feb. 4 episode of the MSNBC program, Black Men in America: Road to 2024, alongside former presidential candidate Al Sharpton. "And people ask, 'How, Attorney Crump?' Change the definition of crime."
"If you get to define what conduct is going to be made criminal, you can predict who the criminals are going to be," he said. "(White people) made the laws to criminalize our culture-- black culture."
Last week, Crump announced he was suing Wal-Mart, which he claims their stores wouldn't put a new "gangster rap" themed children's cereal, "Snoop Cereal," on its shelves.
"Rosa Parks refused to stay in the back of the bus," Crump said. "We refuse to have black businesses' products like "Snoop Cereal" stay in the back of the warehouse."
Crump, 54, is Florida-based but has strong Chicago ties.
He has partnered with Chicago lawyer Tony Romanucci on several of his highest-profile cases, including police brutality lawsuits for the families of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Trayvon Martin.
And, in 2016, Crump told the New York Times that he advised Harris supporter Kim Foxx on her first run for state's attorney, in which she positioned herself as an anti-police prosecutor who would use her discretion to go easier on black perpetrators.
"How humbling to have the support of (Crump), a modern-day civil rights hero and champion," Harris tweeted on Friday. "And thank you to my friend Tony Romanucci for hosting us yesterday, and for all that you do in the fight for justice in our city and nation."
Harris and O'Neill Burke are the only two candidates in the race for the Democratic nomination to replace Foxx. Election Day is March 19.
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