Jennifer Lopez opens 2017 Grammys with a Toni Morrison quote about the power of art

Culture

Jennifer Lopez opened the 2017 Grammy Awards ceremony by invoking Pulitzer Prize-winning author Toni Morrision.

Before handing the award for best new artist to Chance the Rapper, Lopez quoted Morrison from her essay, "No Place for Self-Pity, No Room for Fear," about the role of art and artists during troubled times.

Twitter users loved Lopez's willingness to quote Morrison on the relationship between art and resistance.

After Lopez's speech, Morrison's name began trending on Twitter.

Twitter

The praise for Lopez comes only one week after the internet debated whether Lady Gaga's Super Bowl performance hit the mark when it came to political messaging.

Lopez's quoting Morrison wasn't the only time the Grammys got political early in the broadcast. Within minutes of Lopez's speech, Michael Jackson's daughter Paris Jackson took the stage and made a statement in protest of the Dakota Access Pipeline, a project to which President Donald Trump has financial ties. Trump jumpstarted the project again with an executive order.