John Legend is celebrating Father's Day this year by boosting the voices of children whose fathers are incarcerated. In the video, which can be seen above, Legend talks about the joys and privileges of fatherhood, about the love that binds parent and child. He also highlights how hard it can be be for both father and child, to be separated due to incarceration, especially on days like Father's Day.
"For too many other fathers, that privilege of hugging your child, of looking at your child and saying 'I love you, I am proud to be your dad,'" says Legend. "To end the human suffering caused by mass incarceration, we have to make love the focus."
In the United States, 2.7 million children have a parent incarcerated, a number which has grown five times between 1980 and 2012.
We Got Us Now is a digital platform built by and for children of incarcerated parents. You can learn more about the initiative and how to get involved on their website. We Got Us Now is part of a larger dialogue initiated to "change the national conversation about our country’s misguided policies and transform America’s criminal justice system." Free America was started in 2015 by John Legend.
