Justice is Key by Johana Bonilla

I was first introduced to the song ”Glory,” by John Legend last year in language arts class. We had recently been learning about police brutality, so the song tied in with the lesson. The part that really got to me is when the song says,

“Everyday women and men become legends

Sins that go against our skin become blessings.”

Ever since that day every time i hear this song the first thing that pops into my mind is police brutality and racism. This part got to me because it is talking about racism and also of those people who take a stand to stop it. All of John Legend’s songs are inspirational, his songs reflect his outgoing personality because he always has an important message to share with the world. John legend was born December 28, 1978 in Springfield Ohio. From a young age he has been practicing piano and singing in church choir, because of that he is now  a successful music writer and singer. John Legend has won 9 Grammy awards throughout his musical journey. His music is all pop, and it usually talks about topics that apply to his life. For example, his song “Glory,” that came out December 11, 2014, was about black lives and how they had to fight for their freedom and justice.

John Legend uses symbolism and rhyme in his song to show the message that we all have to work together to achieve justice. He uses the protest in Ferguson as a symbol of courage, perseverance, and togetherness. We see this when the song says,

“That’s why we walk through Ferguson with our hands up

When it go down we woman and man up

They say, “Stay down”,  and we stand up.” (“Glory” 18-20)

This reveals the theme that we all have to work together to achieve justice because in ferguson everybody was working together to protest for freedom and justice. Justice is important because if we don’t have justice, everything will be chaos and nobody will feel safe.

John Legend also uses the protest in Selma as a symbol of justice because selma is now free for everyone including people of color. It is free because people worked together and strived for their freedom. We see this when the song says,

“Selma’s now for every man, woman and child,”(“Glory” 35)

This shows that we all have to work together to achieve justice. We can’t work alone because the power comes from the people and if there's only one person than there isn’t as much power so you are least likely to achieve your goal.

What makes “Glory,” a powerful song is the different scenarios that John Legend includes into his lyrics. Those scenarios are meant to emphasize his point of view on how important justice is, but how hard it is to achieve. An example of this is when the song says,

“They say, ”Stay down”, and we stand up

Shots, we on the ground, the camera panned up

King pointed to the mountaintop and we ran up,”(“Glory” 20-22)

This strengthens the song because it gives such a strong visual, and it shows you the struggle and determination it takes to achieve justice.

As you can see,”Glory,” is a very powerful song that values justice. The theme of this song is that we all have to work together to achieve justice. This topic is important because there are many political problems going on right now, and we have to all work together to help solve the issues and find the right solution. For example, the Hunger Strike that was just going on, these people were looking for justice, they wanted justice for all the lives that had recently been lost. These issues are important and the fact that John Legends songs address many of these issues, is great. This song is worthy of being heard because it shows a good message and could help change people's way of thinking.