Macklemore & Ryan Lewis AMAS 2013 Trayvon Martin Racism Acceptance Speech: We Need to 'Look Out for the Youth' [VIDEO]
Macklemore and Ryan Lewis took time during their acceptance speech at the 2013 American Music Awards on Sunday to address a topic very important to them.
The duo bet Jay Z and Kendriick Lamar for Best Album - Rap/Hip-Hop for their first record The Heist, presented by Akon and Michael Bolton. The Thrift Shop singers were not at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles to accept the award in person due to the fact that they were in Florida performing. They gave their acceptance speech via satellite.
After briefly thanking their fans for honoring them with the award, Macklemore said it was time to address something important, especially in light of the fact that he was in Florida.
The rapper, whose real name is Ben Haggerty, quoted Martin Luther King by saying "injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." He added that viewers at home need to "acknowledge Trayvon Martin," a Florida teenager killed by neighnorhood watchman George Zimmerman. The case caused a huge scandal in February 2012 because Martin was shot though he was unarmed in the gated community of Sanford, near Orlando.
It took 44 days for Zimmerman to be charged for the shooting.
The boy's death and the delay in charges that were filed ignited a national debate surrounding race and self-defense. Civil rights activists said that Zimmerman, who identifies as Hispanic, racially profiled Martin, a young African American. Zimmerman was acquitted of murder in July but that didn't stop his name from still appearing in national headlines.
Macklemore talked about the "100s and 100s of kids dying each year of racial profiling," and encouraged people to "look out for the youth and fight racism."
Zimmerman was charged with assault and battery for allegedly pointing a long-barreled shotgun at his new girlfriend on Nov. 18, authorities said. The 30-year-old pushed Samantha Scheibe, 27, from their Florida home at gunpoint and barricaded the door with furniture, according to the sheriff's office.
