Alan Scott and Ruben Studdard have teamed up for the new single “John Lewis Lives,” in celebration of the late John Lewis. The video was released on the anniversary of when the civil rights icon famously led the march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, the day being documented as “Bloody Sunday.”
“I was just 5 days old when John Lewis marched past our DC apartment,” Scott said in a press release. “My mom held me in her arms as she watched. All of my life John Lewis has fought for me and people like me. This is my way of saying his legacy and example lives on wherever people fight for justice.”
“John Lewis Lives” begins with an old interview of Lewis, the track soon entering as a montage of Lewis’ achievements pan across the screen. Studdard’s smooth vocals highlight Lewis’ fight for equality, honoring all that he had done during his life. The track features soft, upbeat instrumentals dancing over the track as the organ whines underneath.
“John Lewis meant a lot of different things to me, but the one thing that he meant to me the most was his courage in the face of imminent danger – his willingness to sacrifice for equality and humanity,” Studdard said in the video description. “I am so thankful that John Lewis is from my home state. It fills me with pride to know that John Lewis fought for me – and made sure that I was able to have all of the rights and privileges that I am so thankful to have right now. John Lewis changed this country by being steadfast and unmovable. He was a constant force for change.”
Lewis passed on July 17, 2020 at the age of 80 after a long battle against stage four pancreatic cancer. At the time of his death, Lewis had been an active member of the House of Representatives, and said of his cancer, ” I have been in some kind of fight – for freedom, equality, basic human rights – for nearly my entire life.” Numerous musicians paid tribute to Lewis, taking to social media to appreciate all that he had done throughout his lifetime.
Scott released the single “You Only See Me When I’m Gone” back in 2016, writing the track to address issues of race and police brutality in the wake of the death of Eric Garner. The song’s video began with Garner’s mother, Gwen Carr, proudly describing her son. Studdard had won the second season of American Idol, and continued to serve as a mentor in later seasons. In 2018, he made his Broadway theatre debut.
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