Despite New York Police Commissioner Bill Bratton’s prediction that public demonstrations over the Eric Garner and Ferguson Grand Jury decisions would “peter out,” the protests are still going strong thanks, in part, to a generous contribution from musician John Legend and his wife model and food blogger Chrissy Teigen. The couple purchased a fleet of food trucks to serve up free food to hungry protesters in New York’s Lincoln Square.
#JohnLegend paid for a food truck in Union sq to feed #EricGarner supporters before the #NYC protest. pic.twitter.com/lIeZsIoip5
— Bipartisan Report (@Bipartisanism) December 8, 2014
Though neither Legend or Teigen is on the ground or taking direct credit for the trucks, Teigen did retweet the following message to her 500,000 followers:
https://twitter.com/ophelporhush/status/541671670797574144
For his part, Legend has let his art do the talking for him. The musician (who was just nominated for several Grammy awards) co-wrote a stirring track from the upcoming (and sadly timely) film Selma about the three Selma to Montgomery marches in 1965 which led to to the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
50 years since Selma. Still marching. Listen to this song @common and I wrote for @SelmaMovie http://t.co/yVLnbY3kRa
— John Legend (@johnlegend) December 4, 2014
The track, entitled “Glory,” contains the lyrics: “That’s why Rosa sat on the bus/That’s why we walk through Ferguson with our hands up.”
article by Joanna Robinson via vanityfair.com