On Wednesday (Jan. 20), Colombian star Juanes and John Legend joined forces to performing a handful of moving songs, including a cover of Bob Marley's "Redemption Song," near an immigration detention center in Arizona.
The performance, which took place just outside of the Eloy Detention Center where nearly 1500 immigrants await deportation, was part of the duo's #FreeAmerica campaign, where the Grammy Award-winning musicians' attempt "to change the national conversation about our country's misguided policies and transform America's criminal justice system," according to the program's mission statement.
Both artists have posted their own personal mission statement to Instagram.
Learning about "crimmigration" today in Arizona. #FREEAMERICA
A video posted by John Legend (@johnlegend) on Jan 20, 2016 at 11:08am PST
únete hoy a nosotros para saber más sobre "crimmigation" (sistema penal e inmigración) #FREEAMERICA @johnlegend A video posted by JUANES (@juanes) on Jan 20, 2016 at 11:09am PST
"The reason why we're here, one, is because we want to bear witness to what's happening so we could tell the world about it," Legend said to crowd yesterday, which consisted mostly of immigrant rights activists and relatives of the detained, according to NBC.
Furthermore, Legend spoke up about incarceration in a video posted by Puente Arizona, an activist organization who teamed up with the two artists to help protest the detention center's conditions, as well as the act of separating established families due to immigration law. “This is all part of listening and learning for #FreeAmerica,” he stated. “Today we’re focusing on how the immigration system interacts with the massive incarceration system."
Both artists separately performed two songs of their own before teaming up on the historic cover, with Legend manning the piano while Juanes played acoustic guitar. The two talented singer/songwriters switched back-and-forth on verses, making for a touching tribute to those awaiting their fate.
