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Common explains why Selma matters today

Alex Abad-Santos is a senior correspondent who explains what society obsesses over, from Marvel and movies to fitness and skin care. He came to Vox in 2014. Prior to that, he worked at the Atlantic.

"The first day I stepped on the set of Selma, I began to feel like this was bigger than the movie," the rapper Common said while accepting the Golden Globe for best original song. He won for "Glory," which he co-wrote for the film with John Legend.

Common's acceptance speech was powerful, explaining the civil rights struggle that Martin Luther King went through, but also the current struggle today. He went on to reference current events like Tamir Rice and the killing of two NYPD officers, making clear that overcoming the struggle and these ugly events transcends race — we're all connected.

"Selma awakened my humanity," he said.

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