The 'American Idol' alum marks the anniversary of the historic Bloody Sunday march by releasing a song to pay tribute to the late civil rights icon John Lewis.
- Mar 14, 2021
AceShowbiz - American Idol winner Ruben Studdard has recorded a tribute to John Lewis to mark the anniversary of the day the late civil rights icon led the Bloody Sunday march in Alabama.
Lewis protested the rights of African-Americans to vote on 7 March, 1965, by joining fellow activists and crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, where they were attacked by police officials.
Music producer Alan Scott launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund the recording of his song "John Lewis Lives" and he asked Alabama native Studdard to join him in the studio.
"John Lewis meant a lot of different things to me, but the one thing that he meant to me the most was his courage in the face of imminent danger, his willingness to sacrifice for equality and for humanity," the singer says. "It fills me with pride to know that John Lewis fought for me and made sure that I was able to have all of the rights and privileges that I am so thankful to have right now. He changed this country by being steadfast and unmovable."
Lewis, who became one of America's most beloved politicians, died in July (20).
"I was just 5 days old when John Lewis marched past our D.C. apartment," said Alan Scott. "My mom held me in her arms as she watched. All of my life John Lewis has fought for me and people like me. This is my way of saying his legacy and example lives on wherever people fight for justice."
