Three of Chicago’s own each won Oscars on Sunday night and in so doing, gave the world a dollap of socio-political education and good, timely advice in their acceptance speeches.
Common won the Oscar for Best Original Song along with fellow writer, Chicagoan Che “Rhymefest” Smith, and John Legend. In his acceptance speech, he discussed how the events surrounding the movie “Selma,” for which the song “Glory” was written, might have happened long ago, but the fight for equality continues. Legend followed up by reminding viewers of the connection between slavery and the modern day mass incarceration of black men.
The performance of the song drove many in the audience to tears, including Chris Pine. After a night of partying, Common went to sleep with his statue nearby, per Twitter. But before that he kicked up a gossip storm by being pictured with ex-girlfriend Serena Williams.
I’m out but my new friend Oscar is up. He’s a cool dude that doesnt say 2 much. Thx 2 the @theacademy 4 the award! http://t.co/3D2mG0DQoo
— COMMON (@common) February 23, 2015
RELATED: Common’s acceptance speech
Patricia Arquette, who won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her turn in “Boyhood,” reminded the world that women deserve equal pay for equal work. And in so doing, she nearly broke Twitter. She personally hasn’t yet tweeted anything about the Oscars, but her Twitter bio says everything you need to know about her politics and opinions: “Improving public health globally starts with improved sanitation & clean water, & having an opinion.”
University of Chicago Lab School grad Graham Moore also caused a stir with an acceptance speech that referenced his attempted suicide.