“We are at the precipice of an incredible shift, the brink of history,” said entertainment industry icon Beyoncé Knowles-Carter Friday during a campaign event for Vice President Kamala Harris in Houston, Texas.
Kelly Rowland, Beyoncé’s former Destiny’s Child bandmate, was also at the rally.
Beyoncé, a 32-time Grammy winner, hails from Houston and told the crowd that she was a proud, “country” Texas woman. She remarked on the positivity, community and humanity she felt inside Shell Energy stadium. According to TIME magazine, this rally was Harris’ largest, with 30,000 supporters gathered.
“I’m not here as a celebrity. I’m not here as a politician. I’m here as a mother. A mother who cares deeply about the world my children and all of our children live in. A world where we have the freedom to control our bodies,” said Beyoncé. She has three children with her husband Shawn Carter (known by his stage name, Jay-Z): daughters Blue Ivy and Rumi, and son Sir.
Protecting reproductive freedom has been a cornerstone of Harris’ campaign. Americans got a shock in summer 2022 when the conservative leaning U.S. Supreme Court ruled to overturn decades of protections on reproductive healthcare established by Roe v. Wade. Three of the six justices who agreed to the ruling were appointed by Harris’ GOP opposition, former President Donald Trump.
Last month Taylor Swift, another pop culture icon, also endorsed Harris. Her endorsement came in the form of a social media post that poked fun at Trump’s VP pick, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, for his comments about “childless cat ladies.”
Previously, Beyoncé performed the National Anthem at the White House for President Barack Obama’s inauguration in 2009. Obama was the first Black president elected in the U.S. If Harris – also a Black American – wins the election next month, she will be the first women elected to the position in our nation’s history and the first president of South Asian descent.
“Imagine our daughters growing up, seeing what’s possible with no ceilings, no limitations. Imagine our grandmothers, imagine what they feel right now,” said Beyoncé during her remarks Friday. She also asked the audience to remember the sacrifice of earlier generations – “the sacrifices made so we can witness the strength of a woman standing in her power, reimagining what leadership is.”
For months, Harris has been walking on stages to Beyoncé’s 2016 song “Freedom” from the “Lemonade” album. It was also featured in the ad that launched her campaign this summer.
“I break chains all by myself//Won’t let my freedom rot in hell//Hey! I’ma keep running//‘Cause a winner don’t quit on themselves,” sings Beyoncé on the track.
Now, she said that the U.S. needs to sing a new song inspired by Harris’ push for national unity: “Our voices sing a chorus of unity, they sing a song of dignity and opportunity.”
Beyoncé also urged the crowd, and people watching, to vote.
“We all have a role to play to make this a reality,” she said.
Her endorsement comes with less than two weeks to go until the Nov. 5 election. As of Saturday, the race between Harris and Trump appeared to be nearly nearly tied, based on polls and election forecasts linked at the end of this article.