On March 19, right before rapper Meek Mill performed at Hartford's Xfinity Theater, the State of Connecticut presented the social-justice advocate and battle rapper with the key to the state, declaring the day of his Motivation Tour stop there as "Meek Mill Day." The declaration follows just after his hometown Philadelphia declared March 15–17 "Meek Mill Weekend" and reflects growing awareness of the criminal justice reform issues the rapper champions.

TMZ has an exclusive pic of the backstage presentation by state Rep. Brandon McGee and notes Houston was first, declaring Feb. 24 as Meek Mill Day, Connecticut is the first to honor Meek Mill on the state level. The rapper's Motivation Tour is approaching its March 24 final date in Atlanta, but appreciation for his efforts seems bound to continue.

On Jan. 23, Meek Mill and Jay-Z joined with Van Jones and sports team owners to announce their creation of the Reform Alliance at the City University of New York's John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Meek Mill explained that, "The system is basically targeted at people that look like me." His own troubled experience with incarceration and parole gives him first-hand credibility and his activism on behalf of legal fairness is widely admired. The way Jay-Z put it in Januray was, "These things are disproportionate, and the whole world knows it."

The release of Meek Mill's album Championships on Nov. 30 took him to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for the second time, on the Dec. 15 chart. His three previous albums landed at the No. 2 or No. 3 slot. To have two city governments and one state government recognize his combination of music, message and activism adds to this exceptional track record and builds anticipation for what's ahead.

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