鈥淚鈥檓 not here as a celebrity, I鈥檓 not here as a politician. I鈥檓 here as a mother,鈥 Beyonc茅 said at a campaign rally for Kamala Harris.
鈥淎 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, a world where we鈥檙e not divided,鈥 she said Friday night in Houston.
鈥淚magine our daughters growing up seeing what鈥檚 possible with no ceilings, no limitations," she continued. 鈥淲e must vote, and we need you.鈥
At the end, Beyonc茅, who was joined onstage by her Destiny鈥檚 Child bandmate Kelly Rowland, introduced Harris. 鈥淟adies and gentlemen, please give a big, loud, Texas welcome to the next president of the United States, Vice President Kamala Harris,鈥 she said.
She did not perform 鈥 unlike in 2016, at a presidential campaign rally for Hilary Clinton in Cleveland.
Houston is Beyonc茅's hometown, and Harris鈥 presidential campaign has taken on Beyonce鈥檚 2016 track 鈥淔reedom,鈥 a cut from her as its anthem.
Harris in July during her first official public appearance as a presidential candidate at her campaign headquarters in Delaware. That same month, Beyonc茅鈥檚 mother, Tina Knowles, publicly endorsed Harris for president.
Beyonc茅 gave permission to Harris to use the song, a campaign official who was granted anonymity to discuss private campaign operations confirmed to The Associated Press.
Arriving in the back-half of 鈥淟emonade,鈥 鈥淔reedom鈥 samples two John and Alan Lomax field recordings, which document Jim Crow-era folk spirituals of Southern Black churches and the work songs of Black prisoners from 1959 and 1948, respectively. It also features .
Kinitra D. Brooks, an academic and author of 鈥淭he Lemonade Reader,鈥 says the song 鈥溾楩reedom" is so important because it shows that freedom isn鈥檛 free. The freedom to be yourself, the political freedom ... it鈥檚 the idea that you must fight for freedom, and that it is winnable."
The Harris rally in Houston highlighted from the state鈥檚 and putting the blame squarely on .
Since abortion was restricted in Texas, the state鈥檚 , more babies have died of birth defects and maternal mortality has risen.
