23 February 2015
Newsdesk
John Legend thinks there is still a lot to be done regarding issues of race, especially within the prison system.
The American singer and Common scooped the best original song Oscar for their track Glory last night, which features in the Martin Luther King Jr. biopic Selma.
When the two men took to the stage they used their acceptance speech to highlight problems with the US prison system. Talking backstage, they further opened up on the issue.
“I think there still is a lot to be done. Some of the things I spoke about today, about the rolling back of some of the Voting Rights Act is real, and people feeling that around the country, what I spoke about regarding incarceration is real and it's destroying communities and it's a waste of our national resources to put so many people in prison, and it disproportionately affects black and brown communities," John explained in the media room.
"And so when we think about equality and freedom and justice, we know we've got more work to do. And we're going to do that work, we want to do that work, and we hope that our song is inspiration for those who want to do that work as well."
Selma outlines the historic march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, that King and his followers undertook in 1965.
While the real life events took place 50 years ago, John concedes that modern audiences still resonate with the message.
"The fact that we have an opportunity to get to a stage like the Oscars, I mean how could you not say anything, especially representing a film like Selma, representing the song Glory and just honestly being an artist that cares," Common added.
"Beyond what we have done on this song, John has always made music about love. He's been doing things for education for a long time. He stands up for issues. I feel it's our duty."
