Talib Kweli, Nelly and Abby Dobson performed "Before He Walked" - a stirring tribute to Trayvon Martin - on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno last night. Their televised tribute comes days after protests erupted across the country in support of the slain Florida teen following the verdict delivered in the case against George Zimmerman - the man accused of murdering Martin. Kweli and Nelly performed against a backdrop dense with the imagery of colonialism and the violence of slavery. The visual assault was only heightened by the pain and fury rushing forth from Abby Dobson's relentless gospel. The group performed the song from Kweli's latest LP Prisoner of Conscious clad in black hoodies. The performance ends with a sobering clip from Slavery By Another Name - the PBS documentary based on the 2009 Pulitzer Prize winning book by Douglas Blackmon that examines peonage and other forms of forced servitude enacted between 1865 and 1945 following the abolition of formal slavery in the United States. Check the footage below to watch Talib Kweli, Nelly and Abby Dobson perform "Before He Walked."
