John Legend Takes on Voter ID and Overcriminalization in Oscar Victory Speech

Sharing the Academy Award for Best Original Song, rapper Common and singer John Legend drew parallels between the events portrayed in Selma and pretty much every fight for democracy and civil rights happening throughout the world.

Common described how he and Legend were asked to perform their song, “Glory”, on the actual bridge in Selma where Dr. Martin Luther King‘s historic march took place. “This bridge was once a landmark of a divided nation, but now is a symbol of change,” he said. “The spirit of this bridge transcends race, gender, religion, sexual orientation and social status. The spirt of this bridge connects the kid from the South Side of Chicago, dreaming of a better life, to those in France standing up for freedom of expression.”

“We wrote this song for a film that was based on a event that happened fifty years ago, but we say that ‘Selma is now’, because the struggle for justice is right now,” Legend continued, hitting on the subject of black incarceration in America. “We know that right now, the struggle for freedom is right now…When people are marching with our song, we want to say that we see you, and we are with you.”

The musician referenced the fight over voter ID laws and overcriminalization as examples of how the struggle continues to this day.

Watch below via ABC:

[Image via screenshot]

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