John Legend and Common’s Performance of ‘Glory’ Is a Special Moment at the Oscars

With lyrics honoring Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr. and even the Ferguson protest movement, musicians John Legend and Common had many Academy Awards attendees in tears.

Watch parts of their acceptance speech for the Best Original Song Oscar. In the speech, Common recalls Bloody Sunday, in which police attacked peaceful civil rights protesters in 1965 as they marched with King across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala. “The spirit of this bridge transcends race, gender, religion, sexual orientation and social status,” Common said. Also, watch Legend talk about the Voting Rights Act, below:

To top it off, see a clip of the two artists elaborating on their acceptance speech:

—Posted by Natasha Hakimi Zapata