John Legend Quotes
It's not enough to say we need to love each other, you have to go behind that and say we need to change these policies, we need to fight, we need to protest, we need to agitate for change.
Legend, John. Interview. The Guardian, Guardian News & Media, 2016.
He was following the lead of Colin Kaepernick—Quote 643305. Instead of standing and saluting as professional athletes have done for decades before games, Kaepernick had kneeled and refused to stand as a protest about the large number of unarmed Black young men who had been killed by police. . This caused great public criticism but also some initial support. Athletes who did this were potentially risking their multimillion dollar salary as this technically violated their contract to avoid anything embarrassing to the team. He also donated $1 million to programs in the area that were working to enhance Black/white understanding. Even those who disagreed with his choice of protest defended his right to do so, and after the initial furor, public opinion, while not in agreement about his method, tended to support him for having the courage of his convictions and using his celebrity for a worthy cause.
John Roger Stephens, known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, film producer, and philanthropist. Prior to the release of Legend's debut album Get Lifted (2004), he collaborated with already-established artists and signed to Kanye West's GOOD Music. Legend has sung on Jay-Z's "Encore", Alicia Keys's "You Don't Know My Name", Dilated Peoples' "This Way", Slum Village's "Selfish", Fort Minor's "High Road", and played piano on Lauryn Hill's "Everything Is Everything". Legend's single "All of Me" from his fourth studio album Love in the Future (2013) was a Billboard Hot 100 number-one hit.
