Mike is an outspoken social activist focusing on subjects including
social equality,
police brutality, and
systemic racism. His views are reflected in his music, as well as in interviews with the media. As a publicly viewed figure, Mike feels it is his responsibility to represent African-Americans: "I feel I have to be politically active and I have to be a credit to my race". He has been vocal on the subject of police misconduct, his father being a former police officer. His anti-brutality sentiment can be found on the song "
Reagan" from his album
R.A.P. Music, and the song "Early" on
Run the Jewels 2. In response to the 2014
killing of Michael Brown in
Ferguson, Missouri, Mike said: In an
op-ed published in
Billboard magazine, Render stated that "there is no reason that Mike Brown and also
Eric Garner are dead today—except bad policing, excessive force, and the hunt-and-capture-prey mentality many thrill-seeking cops have adapted". Mike and El-P performed at The Ready Room in
St. Louis, Missouri on November 24, 2014, the same night that the Grand Jury verdict was announced stating that Darren Wilson would not be charged with a crime in the shooting of Michael Brown. Mike opened the set, which began about two hours after the announcement was made, with a heartfelt speech. Fan-shot footage of the speech later went viral. Mike, in an op-ed, defended rap lyrics as freedom of speech. Mike gave a keynote address on free speech, and particularly with respect to the criminalization of rap music (he has a particular interest in championing the expressive rights of artists, and led the way in a successful campaign against the use of lyrics as criminal evidence in California), at the inaugural gala for the
Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression in New York City in April 2023. Commenting on the
2015 Baltimore uprising related to the
death of Freddie Gray, Render noted that he understood the frustrations leading to violent demonstrations, but encouraged protesters to use their energy to organize for lasting change. In a
Billboard op-ed, Mike stated: He made similar points in an interview with the
Harvard Political Review: "Baltimore is an opportunity for us to do something different. As society, there's a real opportunity to organize there, and if we do not take full advantage of the opportunity to organize, then the riots truly meant nothing". Mike has given lectures about race relations in the United States at several American universities, including Northwestern University,
New York University and the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His activism work was featured in a 2019 episode of
The Real World: Atlanta.
Political involvement at a November 2015
campaign rally in Atlanta In June 2015, Mike briefly ran as a
write-in candidate to become the representative for Georgia's 55th district in the
Georgia House of Representatives. Despite encouraging voters to write in his real name, Michael Render, any votes he received would not have been considered valid due to his failure to previously register as an official candidate in the election. He said his purpose in running was to raise awareness of the special election, and to demonstrate that political outsiders can and should run against established politicians. Mike announced his support of Democratic U.S. presidential candidate
Bernie Sanders in June 2015 after Sanders announced his intention to restore the
Voting Rights Act of 1965. After introducing Sanders at a rally held in Atlanta November 23, 2015, Mike spent time recording an interview with the presidential candidate at Mike's barbershop. Mike released his interview with Sanders as a six-part video series the following month. In the following months, he remained an active and vocal supporter of Sanders, delivering speeches at rallies, voicing support in televised interviews and on social media, and traveling with the campaign. Sanders introduced Run the Jewels before their appearance at the 2016
Coachella music festival. In February 2016, Mike received criticism during his activism for Sanders for quoting American anti-racism and LGBT advocate
Jane Elliott regarding
Hillary Clinton, which was criticized as misogynistic and mistakenly attributed as being his original phrasing online and in the press. Following Sanders' exit from the race, Mike refused to support Clinton, citing her pro-war record. Mike has been an advocate for investment in
black-owned banks; in July 2016, he called for people to transfer their money to black-owned
Atlanta bank Citizens Trust, stating, "We don't have to burn our city down. But what we can do is go to your banks tomorrow. You can go to your bank tomorrow. And you can say, 'Until you as a corporation start to speak on our behalf, I want all my money. And I'm taking all my money to Citizens Trust". In June 2017, at
Glastonbury festival, Mike endorsed
Labour Party leader
Jeremy Corbyn in the
2017 UK general election. On March 22, 2018, Mike appeared on
NRATV with host
Colion Noir defending Black gun ownership. He says it had been filmed a week prior to the
March for Our Lives yet released the weekend of the protest. He stated that he told his children that if they participated in the
National School Walkout that he would expect them to leave the family home. On March 26, 2018, he posted a video stating that the NRA used his interview out of context, saying he actually supports March for Our Lives while simultaneously advocating for Black gun ownership. During this same video he gave his endorsement for gun ownership alternatives, listing the
Socialist Rifle Association by name. On May 29, 2020, Mike spoke during a press conference with Atlanta mayor
Keisha Lance Bottoms in response to the
murder of George Floyd and the ensuing protests. In 2020, Mike supported both
Raphael Warnock and
Jon Ossoff in the
2020–2021 United States Senate special election in Georgia, both of whom won. He again endorsed Warnock in the
2022 United States Senate election in Georgia, although he interviewed his opponent,
Herschel Walker in May of that year on his
Love & Respect series. ==Personal life==