“We know that right now, the struggle for freedom and justice is real. We live in the most incarcera

“We know that right now, the struggle for freedom and justice is real. We live in the most incarceratedcountry in the world. There are more Black men under correctional control todaythan were under slavery in 1850.” John Legend at the Oscars: http://on.fb.me/1MZzgIh #FlashBackFridayJohn Legend: “Nina Simonssaid, “It’s an artist’s duty to reflect the times in which we live.” We wrotethis song for a film that was based on events that were 50 years ago, but wesay that Selma is now because the struggle for justice is right now. We knowthat the Voting Rights Act that they fought for 50 years ago is beingcompromised right now in this country today. We know that right now, thestruggle for freedom and justice is real. We live in the most incarceratedcountry in the world. There are more Black men under correctional control todaythan were under slavery in 1850. When people are marching with our song, wewant to tell you that we are with you, we see you, we love you, and march on.God bless you.”Common: “First I would liketo thank God that lives in us all. Recently John and I got to go to Selma andperform Glory on the same bridge that Dr. King and the people of the CivilRights movement marched don 50 years ago. This bridge was once a landmark of adivided nation, but now it’s a symbol for change. The spirit of this bridgetransforms race, gender, religion, sexual orientation and social status. Thespirit of this bridge connects the kid from the South side of Chicago dreamingof a better life to those in France standing up for their freedom of expression,to the people in Hong Kong protesting for democracy. This bridge was built onhope, welded with compassion and elevated by love for all human beings.”“Intotal, there were about 1.68 million African-American men under state andfederal criminal justice supervision in 2013, 807,076 more than the number ofAfrican-American men who were enslaved in 1850. Our research found that U.S. Bureau of CriminalStatistics put the number of African American men under state and federalcriminal justice supervision in 2013 at about 1.68 million – 807,076 above thenumber of African American men enslaved in 1850.” Read Politico’s InsightfulArticle: “More African-American Men in Prison System Now Than Were Enslaved in1850” - http://bit.ly/184mR5n“What’s even more alarming is the number ofother statistics he could have offered to show the impact that massincarceration has had on black men over the past few decades. One example: ablack child whose father didn’t complete high school has a 50 percent chance ofseeing him incarcerated by the time she’s 14.” Vox: http://bit.ly/1LO6cQQ“Everything You Needto Know About Prisons” Vox: http://bit.ly/1Af0DnD -- source link

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