Common and John Legend‘s powerful performance of “Glory” brought the Oscars to tears on Sunday.
As the two Grammy winners’ performance of the soon-to-be Oscar-winning song from “Selma” came to a close, the camera cut to the movie’s star David Oyelowo, who had tears streaming down his face as he was comforted by the film’s producer, Oprah Winfrey.
The actor, who controversially wasn’t nominated for Best Actor for his performance as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., wasn’t the only one caught up in the moment. “Star Trek” actor Chris Pine was among other stars who couldn’t hide their emotions during the song’s standing ovation.
Moments later, the song was awarded the Oscar for Best Original Song, the same award it won at last month’s Golden Globe Awards.
View videoAccepting the award, the two artists made sure to underline why the film their song belongs to is more important than ever.
“‘Selma’ is now because the struggle for justice is now,” Legend said. “We know that the voting rights that they fought for 50 years ago is being compromised in this country today.”
The musician also noted the sobering statistic that there are more black men incarcerated in the U.S. today than were under slavery in 1850.
