Yandy Smith Spent the Weekend Protesting at a Federal Jail In Brooklyn

Inmates at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York have been without electricity and heat since January 28th. That means that the nearly 1,600 inmates who are housed there went days without heat, hot water, hot meals or light in their cells during a polar vortex that brought temperatures into the single digits. Among the protesters advocating for the inmates was Love & Hip Hop New York's Yandy Smith.

"IM FREEZING BUT THEY ARE IN THERE DYING, inmates in Brooklyn are being denied there basic HUMAN RIGHTS!!!!! The lights are shut off. The toilets are shut off. There’s no hot water and blankets have been refused and turned away by warden Quay. !!! I’m At the federal detention center right here in Brooklyn, where temperatures are BELOW FREEZING, the heat and electricity have been turned off SINCE MONDAY. 1,600 HUMANS are there. That is them, right now, banging and making noises so people outside can hear them. MEN AND WOMEN are getting sick and are freezing. The only thing working since Monday are small emergency lights. This is a gross human rights abuse. One guard just told me he just took the temperature inside and that it is 33 degrees in there."

This is not Yandy's first time protesting, and she addressed those who thought she was just doing it for Instagram in a post on Saturday morning.

"So many of you people sit and poke fun on my page about the protest I’m apart of. Or say “here’s Yandy doing it for social media again” but what more is my social media for than to bring attention to the injustices we as humans deal with or the beauty of life we deal with. Here real change is happening because we demanded it and put in the work. Stop sitting at home judging, causing dissension, and allowing nonsense to cloud your vision of what’s right! Get up and get out there with me. You see the work and I will CONTINUE TO POST! SO THE NEXT TIME YOU SAY YANDY DOES IT FOR SOCIAL MEDIA MAKE SURE YOU ADD BUT SHE REALLY PUTS IN THE WORK AND MAKES THINGS HAPPEN! Then say to yourself “IM A LAZY SIDE LINE HATIN A$$ LAME!” because you’re not putting in any work!"

Eventually protesters made an attempt to storm the prison, but where quickly hit with mace. In one video, Yandy can be seen on the ground, recovering from being hit with pepper spray.

It looks like the voices of the protesters were finally heard, and as the lights in the prison finally came on, Yandy and all of the other protesters outside celebrated.

It's good to see that Yandy is walking the walk and showing her foster daughter Infinity what it means to take action.

Yandy opens up about becoming a foster mom to former mentee Infinity and why she's glad the process was recorded for the show.