The inaugural Social Justice Convention took place in New York City this past Saturday, featuring appearances from Yo Gotti, San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, Philadelphia Sixers partner Michael Rubin, radio host/TV personality Charlamagne Tha God, civil rights attorney Ben Crump, Minnesota attorney general Keith Ellison, Dr. Bernice A. King, and Eric Garner’s mother, Gwen Carr, among others.

Popovich presented an award to Barry Scheck, the co-founder of the Innocence Project co-founder, while Gotti spoke on a panel discussing the inhumane treatment of the incarcerated population in Parchman prison. Gotti has been a prominent advocate for prison reform for years and previously teamed with Jay-Z and Team Roc to shed light on prison reform.

Charlamagne has been outspoken about the importance of mental health over the years and spoke on a panel addressing the topic.

Focused on more than big names to draw attention to reform, the inaugural summit aimed to "bring together leaders, experts, and advocates who are committed to working together in the spirit of social and racial justice" by addressing families impacted by police violence, laws and policies, and increasing voter registration via town halls, panel discussions, and networking opportunities.

“The United Justice Coalition started as an informal meeting of the minds, but it has quickly evolved into a more purposeful initiative to create change in our communities,” Dania Diaz, Team ROC and UJC founding member, said in a May press release. “Our goal for this summit is to spark discussion and collaboration and take a solution-oriented approach to reforming America’s antiquated policies,” Diaz added. “At the end of the day, we are all bonded by one common goal—to eradicate injustice.”

"I'm so grateful that we have UJC to be one of those unions for Black people when they have nowhere else to turn," Atty. Ben Crump, UJC board member, shared with ROCK THE BELLS. "You have To Freedom, you have the National Action Network, but we can't have enough. Think about how many police unions exist in America; in every city and every town. But we only have one or two organizations."

Ari Melber was on-hand for panels and spoke to ROCK THE BELLS about Hip-Hop's role in the contemporary fight for social justice.

"If you remember part of what the early, sort of 'first wave' civil rights leaders were doing in the 60s, they were first trying to get this stuff reported, noticed, acknowledged," shared Melber. "Even that wasn't happening. Then you play into Hip-Hop, right? As early as late 70s, [early] 80s when you think about that first wave—it was telling these stories. That wasn't political; that was just 'here are true things that are happening in this community that are also being ignored and marginalized.'"