Thursday, April 30, 2015 4:39am ET by  
Comments (0)

, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

John Legend: 'I want to use my fame to inspire political change'

Crooner John Legend has revealed that he wants to use his fame for something good

The star recently unveiled his Free America campaign, which he hopes will positively influence the justice system in the United States, and he told Entertainment Tonight that while he won't be running for office he hopes he can use his voice to inspire a generation:

"I like to sing, I like to write songs and I like to use my position as a singer, as an artist to mobilise people for political change, but I think this is the best way for me to do it. I don't think I need to run for office to do it. I have a great opportunity being where I am, having the influence that I have, and I don't want to waste it."

Referring to his Free America campaign, Legend added: "We are the most incarcerated country in the world. We have more people locked up than anyone else in the world, any other country - no matter how repressive or oppressive we think their regime is - we have more people locked up than them."

"A lot of this is impacting neighbourhoods like the one I grew up in. A lot of black and brown communities are bearing the brunt of the impact of this and it's all the result of policies that have been enacted over the last 40 years, policies that have been [racking up sentences] for all kinds of crimes, including nonviolent ones, the war on drugs. We believe there are smarter ways to do this, more compassionate ways, ways that don't destroy communities and destroy families, and we're trying to advocate for those."

Follow us: @Pressparty on Twitter Pressparty on Facebook.

 

 

 

Watch a recent interview with Legend below: