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Beyoncé supports Kamala Harris at rally in Houston, Texas
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Beyoncé supports Kamala Harris at rally in Houston, Texas

“I’m not here as a celebrity, I’m not here as a politician. I’m here as a mother,” Beyoncé said at a campaign rally for Kamala Harris.

“A mother who cares deeply about the world that my children and all of our children live in, a world where we have the freedom to control our bodies, a world where we are not divided,” she said Friday evening on Houston.

“Imagine our girls growing up seeing what is possible without ceilings, without limits,” she continued. “We need to vote and we need you.”

At the end, Beyoncé, who was joined on stage by her Destiny’s Child bandmate Kelly Rowland, introduced Harris. “Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the next President of the United States, Vice President Kamala Harris,” she said.

Musical artists Beyoncé, right, and Kelly Rowland, left, on stage during a campaign event for Democratic presidential Vice President Kamala Harris, Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, in Houston. (AP Photo/Annie Mulligan)

She did not perform – unlike in 2016, when she performed at a presidential campaign rally for Hilary Clinton in Cleveland.

Houston is Beyoncé’s hometown, and Harris’ presidential campaign took as its anthem Beyoncé’s 2016 track “Freedom,” a cut from her 2016 breakthrough album “Lemonade.”

Harris first used the song in July during her first official public appearance as a presidential candidate at her campaign headquarters in Delaware. The same month, Beyoncé’s mother, Tina Knowles, publicly supported Harris for president.

Beyoncé gave Harris permission to use the songa campaign official who was granted anonymity to discuss private campaign operations confirmed to The Associated Press.

Musical artist Beyoncé, right, and Democratic presidential running mate Kamala Harris, left, embrace on stage during a campaign rally Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, in Houston. (AP Photo/Annie Mulligan)

Arriving in the second half of “Lemonade,” “Freedom” samples two recordings by John and Alan Lomax, which document the Jim Crow-era folk spirituals of Southern black churches and the work songs of black prisoners from 1959 and 1948 , respectively. It also features the Pulitzer Prize winner Kendrick Lamar.

Kinitra D. Brooks, academic and author of “The Lemonade Reader“, says the song “‘Freedom’ is so important because it shows that freedom is not free. The freedom to be yourself, political freedom… it’s the idea that you have to fight for freedom and that it can be won. “

The Harris rally in Houston highlighted the dangerous medical consequences of the state strict ban on abortion and place the blame squarely on Donald Trump.

Since abortion was restricted in Texas, the state government the infant mortality rate has increasedmore babies died of birth defects and maternal mortality increased.