WASHINGTON (October 24, 2024) – Beyoncé is set to appear at a rally in Houston with Democratic nominee Kamala Harris on Friday, ending the months-long speculation about whether the superstar will weigh in directly on the 2024 U.S. presidential election. She had previously granted Harris’ team approval to use her song “Freedom” for their campaign. Beyoncé will appear alongside her mother, Tina Knowles, and country music icon Willie Nelson at Friday’s rally, The Washington Post reports.
Other high profile music artists have supported Harris in a number of ways, including Eminem who spoke at Harris’ rally this week in Detroit, Michigan. We also can’t forget the Taylor Swift effect, who endorsed Harris in a social media post earlier this fall.
Faculty experts at the George Washington University are available to offer insight, analysis and commentary on the influence of popular culture, celebrities and music on Harris’ campaign. If you would like to speak with an expert, please contact GW Media Relations at [email protected].
Loren Kajikawa is chair of the music program at the George Washington University’s Corcoran School of the Arts & Design. His main area of research and teaching is American music of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, with special attention to the dynamics of race and politics. Kajikawa’s writings have appeared in American Music, Black Music Research Journal, ECHO: a music-centered journal, Journal of the Society for American Music, and Popular Music and Society, among others.
Imani M. Cheers, an associate professor of digital storytelling, is an award-winning digital storyteller, director, producer, and filmmaker. As a professor of practice, she uses a variety of mediums including video, photography, television, and film to document and discuss issues impacting and involving people of the African Diaspora. Her scholarly focus is on the intersection of women/girls, technology, health, conflict, agriculture, and the effects of climate change in sub-Saharan Africa. Cheers is also an expert on diversity in Hollywood, specifically the representation of Black women in television and film.
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