Macklemore and Ryan Lewis accepted their award for Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Album via satellite during the American Music Awards, and used their platform to talk about racial profiling.
Ben Haggerty, better known as Macklemore in the rap duo, has used his music to talk about social injustice in the United States and what he feels is wrong with society today. It came as no surprise when the rapper talked about arguably one of the biggest cases of "injustice" of the year in Florida: the Trayvon Martin case. George Zimmerman was found Not Guilty of murdering Martin, as the jury believed the man acted in self-defense.
"I was talking to my friend ... before the show and he reminded me of a great Martin Luther King quote - '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 that are dying due to racial profiling and the violence that follows it," Macklemore said during his acceptance speech.
"This is really happening," he continued. "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."
The rap duo also shared a message about society when "Same Love" won Best Video with a Social Message during MTV's Video Music Awards. The video, featuring singer Mary Lambert, portrayed the life of a gay couple as the first fell in love to the very end.
"To watch this song in the last year spread across the world is a testament to what is happening right now in America on the forefront of equality. Gay rights are human rights, there is no separation," Macklemore said.
Watch the AMA acceptance speech in the video below.
