In a powerful moment, Tamika Mallory appeared in Lil Baby‘s performance of “The Bigger Picture” at the 63rd Grammy Awards on Sunday.
Nominated for Best Rap Performance at 2021 Grammy Awards, rapper Lil Baby took to the stage in a memorable performance. Showcasing his Grammy-nominated single, Baby used his moment to speak to police brutality and the Black Lives Matter movement. In a stirring moment between verses, activist Tamika Mallory appeared on set and delivered an empowering and galvanizing speech.
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In the show-stopping moment, Mallory said, “It’s a state of emergency. It’s been a hell of a year, hell, for over 400 years. My people, its time we stand, it’s time we demand the freedom that this land promises.”
Mallory then used the speech to speak directly to our new administration, demanding structural change from the highest office in the land. She said in the speech, “President Biden, we demand justice, empathy, policy and everything else that freedom encompasses.”
In the speech, Mallory also spoke to the difference between “allies” and “accomplices.” She explained in the speech, “…and to accomplish this, we don’t need allies, we need accomplices. It’s bigger than Black and white, this is not a trend, this is our plight!” Then, Mallory was joined by a chorus of protesters chanting, “Until Freedom!” Killer Mike also appeared in the standout performance.
One of the faces of the 2017 Women’s March on Washington, Mallory has spent her life dedicated to activism and fighting for social justice. Back in 2017, theGrio‘s Natasha Alford spoke with Mallory on her work, dedication and leading a political movement.
Opening up about the effect the loss of her son’s father had on her, she told theGrio at the time, “When that first happened, I didn’t really want to talk about it because I didn’t want to shame my family like, ‘Wow. He got shot and killed. First of all, you’re pregnant too young anyway. And then on top of that, now, your baby daddy gets killed. You’re nothin’ but a thug.”
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She went on to explain, “Those are some of the things that was playing in my head because, I hear our people speak like that about other folks. Then I started finding myself in circles with other activists and I was getting exposed to mothers who had lost their children. And I was saying, ‘Wait a minute, I don’t think there’s anything for me to be embarrassed about.’ America’s got some explaining to do about why this is happening to so many young black men.”
Until Freedom is the name of Mallory’s intersectional social justice nonprofit organization. According to the official website, the organization is “rooted in the leadership of diverse people of color to address systemic and racial injustice.” For more information about Until Freedom, and to donate to the cause, you can head to the official website, here.
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