Beyonce's "Glory"

At this year's Grammy's on February 8th, "Queen Bey" (Beyonce) herself performed her rendition of "Take My Hand, Precious Lord," which would seque into Common and John Legend's original song "Glory" from the new movie Selma, a film about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s march in Selma, Alabama and the civil rights movement. If you haven't already, take a look at Beyonce's performance at this year's Grammy's below:

While obviously an outstanding and breathtaking performance- both vocally and visually- Beyonce's performance at this year's Grammy's was also a statement. Why did an oh-so-popular African-American singer perform a gospel song, followed by two more African-American musicians performing their new song from a movie about the civil rights movement? 

This is not pure coincidence. Both of these Grammy performances and the movie Selma seemed to happen at just the right time: just look at what's going on around the country lately. In the words of Common, "I looked at Ferguson and saw what was going on, and knew that it wasn't far from what was happening during the civil rights movement. We wanted this song to be inspirational. We wanted it to have pain, but also hope." "Glory" has recently become a sort of anthem for social justice and a rallying cry throughout the country. Common and John Legend are using this song to parallel the civil rights movement and Selma to what is happening in our country today. Common states that he and Legend tried to capture the horror and reality of the civil rights movement, but also wanted to "make it present." In a song for a movie about a march that took place almost fifty years in the past, the writers are making explicit parallels to events in our country today. And here I thought the struggle for civil justice was over; I thought the civil rights movement was a success. 

Both Beyonce's rendition of "Take My Hand, Precious Lord" and Common and John Legend's performance of their song "Glory," along with the impecible timing of the movie Selma, are a cry for change. It seems to me that these Grammy performances (and Selma, for that matter), were projected to such a large-scale audience for a reason: to bring civil rights issues to national attention once again, so that we cannot forget what has happened in places like Ferguson in the past months, and what is still happening. 

To what extent do we see parallels to the civil rights movement today? Have things truly changed?