Shine

“I was writing this song particularly in the context of what is going on in our schools. The fact that for too long, we have decided as a society that kids who grow up poor, kids who grow up in tough neighborhoods, don’t deserve the best education. We have decided that we will just give them the leftovers. And in that sense, and because of that, we continue a cycle of poverty, so kids with the least resources already get the least-effective teachers, least-effective schools, and run-down buildings. They’re already at a disadvantage in life and we perpetuate that by not providing a path out. And so literally, we send a bunch of them to prison, and not just figuratively. And a large percentage of our black male population, in particular, end up in our penal system, and part of that is a result of us undervaluing their right to an education and right to get a path out of poverty and despair as a kid. And then they grow up and become criminals. And so literally and figuratively, some of these kids are prisoners of history. And at the beginning of that phrase, I say: “Are we afraid to see them?” It’s funny, a lot of the times, you hear politicians talking about the middle-class, but they never talk about the poor. The poorest people in America are invisible. We don’t want to look at them. We don’t want to talk about what’s going on. And I’m saying: “Let’s pay attention. Let’s look at them. Let’s shine a light on them. And let’s give them an opportunity to shine.” (Da un’intervista di Clayton Perry a John Legend, 17 settembre 2010)