A 50-year-old driver may need twice as much light to see as well as a 30-year-old driver, but it’s plain to see that the world is in need of more love now than ever. In the wake of fresh tragedy, artist Jennifer Lopez believes her collaboration with “Hamilton” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda has more meaning than ever before.
The track was written to raise funds after 49 people lost their lives in the tragic Pulse Nightclub shooting in June.
Since then, there have been several more terror attacks, including one in Nice, France, on July 14 that left 84 people dead. Lopez feels the hit single is even more relevant now.
“There’s just something different about it than any other song I’ve ever done. I just feel like the world needs that message right now,” she told Entertainment Tonight. “The fact that love is the answer. Love is the key. That really makes the world a beautiful place. Makes it go round.”
It seems that she’s right in part, but in addition to love, the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement is focusing on social justice and racial equality to fuel their movement.
The shootings of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling have re-energized the BLM movement, one that’s remained incredibly vigilant over their years of activity.
In the 1972 Supreme Court case, Furman v. Georgia, evidence presented by law professor David Baldus revealed that minorities in Georgia were 1.7 times more likely to receive a death sentence than whites in capital offense trials.
However, this kind of racial discrimination has not diminished over time. The New York Times reported in 2011, “Over the past three decades, the Baldus study has been replicated in about a dozen other jurisdictions, and they all reflect the same basic racial bias” in death penalty cases.
Results of countless studies like this one have served as fuel to BLM and others who support their cause. They are also a serious indication that Lopez presents a valid point when speaking of the need for love in the world.
The song experienced a rapid turnaround in the wake of the Orlando attack, and while Lopez was surprised by the speed of the release, she insists the urgency was necessary.
“When we finished the record, it was put out so quickly,” she shared. “I felt like people felt the urgency of it. The record company and everybody involved was like, ‘We need to get this out there right now.’ It’s been an amazing response from not just fans of mine, but people all over the world.”
