John Legend on Thursday addressed Donald Trump‘s assault on Haitian immigrants within the singer’s hometown Springfield, Ohio.
Throughout the presidential debate on Tuesday, the previous president advised that Haitian immigrants in Springfield taking up town.
“They’re consuming the canines. They’re consuming the cats. They’re consuming the pets of the those who dwell there,” he stated.
In a video posted to social media Thursday, Legend reminded his followers that he grew up in Springfield.
“You might have heard of Springfield, Ohio this week,” the “All of Me” singer stated. “In actual fact, if you happen to watched the talk, we have been mentioned by our presidential candidates, together with a really particular, fascinating man named Donald J. Trump.”
Legend spent a number of minutes talking concerning the historical past of Springfield. “Our metropolis had been shrinking for many years,” he stated. “We didn’t have sufficient jobs, we didn’t have sufficient alternative. So individuals left and went elsewhere. So once I was there, we had upwards of 75,000 individuals. And within the final 5 years, we have been down to love 60,000 individuals. However of late, throughout the Biden administration, there have been extra jobs that opened up, extra manufacturing jobs, extra vegetation, factories that wanted staff and have been prepared to rent individuals. So we obtained loads of job alternatives, and we didn’t have sufficient individuals in our city of 60,000 individuals to fill these jobs. And through the identical time, there had been upheaval and turmoil in Haiti, and the federal authorities granted visas and immigration standing to a sure variety of Haitian immigrants so they may come to our nation legally.”
The singer stated Springfield added “15,000 or so immigrants” to the inhabitants 60,000. “You may say, ‘Wow, that’s lots of people.’ For a city that solely had 60,000 earlier than, that’s a 25 % improve. That’s appropriate.”
He acknowledged challenges that arose on account of the demographic shift. “You may think there are some challenges with integrating a brand new inhabitants, new language, new tradition, new dietary preferences. Every kind of the explanation why there is perhaps rising pains — ensuring there are sufficient companies to accommodate the brand new bigger inhabitants that may want bilingual service suppliers, and many others, and many others. So there are many the explanation why this is perhaps a problem for my hometown.”
Regardless, Legend stated: “The underside line is these individuals got here to Springfield as a result of there have been jobs for them, they usually have been keen to work, they usually needed to dwell the American Dream.”
He in contrast the tales of these in Springfield to “your German ancestors, your Irish ancestors, your Italian ancestors, your Jewish ancestors, your Jamaican ancestors, your Polish ancestors. All these ancestors have been moved to this nation, possibly not talking the language that everybody else spoke, possibly not consuming the identical meals, possibly having to regulate.”
He continued, “However all coming as a result of they noticed alternative for themselves and their households within the American dream, they usually got here right here to try this.”
Legend then spoke about embracing immigrants in all communities. “Some details about immigrants,” he stated. “They often do very nicely right here. They’re hardworking, they’re bold. They commit much less crime than native-born Individuals, and they’re going to assimilate and combine in time. However it takes time, so I believe all of us must have the identical type of grace that we’d need our ancestors to have.”
He added: “No person’s consuming cats, no one’s consuming canines. All of us simply wish to dwell and flourish and lift our households in a wholesome and secure setting. How about we love each other?”
Legend’s assertion ended with him posing a query to his followers — “I grew up within the Christian custom. We stated to like our neighbor as we love ourselves and deal with strangers as if they is perhaps Christ. How about we undertake that ethos, after we speak about immigrants shifting to our communities, and don’t unfold, hateful, xenophobic, racist, lies about them?”