14 DAY TRIAL // Macklemore and Ryan Lewis were unable to attend the 2013 American Music Awards, held last night at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles and airing live on ABC, but they still thanked fans for their two wins by means of a pre-recorded message.
The duo took home the awards for Favorite Artist Rap/Hip-Hop and Favorite Album for the same genre and, in their joint acceptance speech, Macklemore took the time to speak out against racial profiling and the need to change the laws that shelter racism.
He also named Trayvon Martin, the teen who was shot and killed in 2012 by George Zimmerman, a neighborhood guard who thought he was acting suspiciously and erroneously assumed he was armed. Zimmerman walked because of the “stand your ground” law.
“I was talking to my friend before the show and he reminded me of a great Martin Luther King quote. He said, ‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.’ And due to the fact that we are in Florida tonight accepting this award, I want to acknowledge Trayvon Martin and the hundreds and hundreds of kids each year that are dying due to racial profiling and the violence that follows it,” the rapper said.
“This is really happening. These are our friends, our neighbors, our peers, and our fans, and it’s time that we look out for the youth and fight against racism and the laws that protect it,” Macklemore added.