Blockbuster singer Beyoncé Knowles-Carter brought down the house Friday night in her hometown of Houston to call for a new American “chorus of unity” vote at a Kamala Harris rally.
“We are all part of something that is much bigger. We must vote,” Beyoncé rallied the crowd moments before she introduced the vice president.
“We are at the precipice of an incredible shift, the brink of history,” the singer said.
“It’s time to sing a new song — a song that began 248 years ago. The old notes of downfall, discord, despair, no longer resonate … Our voices sing a chorus of unity. They sing a song of dignity and opportunity,” she added.
Fellow singer Kelly Rowland took the stage before Beyoncé to tell the crowd she had already cast her early ballot for Harris two days earlier.
“Houston, you have already had a hand in creating Destiny,” Rowland noted, referring to Destiny’s Child, the band she and Beyoncé founded in Houston in 1990. “So do what you do and do the same again.”
Harris hit hard on women’s loss of abortion rights delivered with a push by three Supreme Court Justices picked by her opponent Donald Trump, and warned that the situation would grow more dire for women under another Trump administration.
“No one is protected” Harris warned. “Because a Donald Trump national ban will outlaw abortion in every single state.”
She stressed: “Elections matter.”
Harris was joined at the rally by women who have nearly died from sepsis and other pregnancy complications because they were unable to get proper medical care in the wake of a crackdown on reproductive rights. Some of their stories have already been featured in campaign ads.
Since abortion was restricted in Texas, the state’s infant death rate has increased, more babies have died of birth defects and maternal mortality has risen.
Beyoncé also emphasized the loss of reproductive freedoms under Trump.
“I’m here as 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; a world where we are not divided,” she said.
“Your voice has power and magnitude,” the singer said. Your vote is one of the most valuable tools and we need you. Your freedom is your God-given right – your human right. We all have a role to play to make this a reality.”
