Kanye West and Russell Simmons dropped by the Occupy Wall Street protest yesterday, causing a little bit of a frenzy in the crowd of protesters, New York's Daily News reports.
"I love how sweet and tolerant he was to the crowd," Simmons tweeted about West, after taking off to appear on Al Sharpton's radio show. On the air, he said that as a member of the wealthy "1 percent," he is willing to pay more taxes.
"I'm happy to pay a little more taxes if it means better education for our children," he said. "I don't pay enough taxes, and I know it."
The hip-hop mogul praised the protesters, who have camped out in Zuccotti Park for 24 days.
"People are here with an honest heart and honest intentions," he said. "These young people are our future leaders."
Could this appearance be just the thing to encourage young African Americans to get involved in the nationwide demonstrations? Or will the lure of hip-hops celebs be outweighed by the way protesters snubbed civil rights hero Rep. John Lewis, denying him the opportunity to speak at an Atlanta event because he is an elected official? On that topic, Simmons tweeted, "To #occupyatlanta General Assembly. You are a bunch of (blank)heads. Congressman John Lewis is an American hero." (Lewis, for his part, respectfully left the protest, telling CBS "I was going to say, I stand with you. I support you, what you're doing.")
Read more at the Daily News.
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