Jennifer Hudson knocked the socks off of every member of the Biden administration with her mashup performance of John Legend and Common’s “Glory” and Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come.”
The concert occurred on Tuesday, June 13, in the South Lawn and included performances by actress and singer Audra McDonald, Cliff “Method Man” Smith, Fisk Jubilee Singers, Maverick City Music, Morgan State University Marching Band, Step Afrika! and Tennessee State University marching band.
Hudson was the last performer of the night. She began performing “Glory” while sitting at a piano before taking center stage to transition to “A Change Is Gonna Come.”
Hudson impressed the audience in her usual Jennifer Hudson manner, belting high notes and executing perfect runs with her soulful voice.
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She took to Twitter to express her gratitude for the opportunity to perform at the White House.
“It was my honor and privilege to perform at the @WhiteHouse last night in celebration of #Juneteenth! Black excellence was on full display!!! Our country still has a ways to go, but today I am proud to say we have come this far by faith! Glory!!!”
It was my honor and privilege to perform at the @WhiteHouse last night in celebration of #Juneteenth! Black excellence was on full display !!! Our country still has a ways to go, but today I am proud to say we have come this far by faith ! Glory!!!
📸: REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst pic.twitter.com/TktT0Wgcau
— Jennifer Hudson (@IAMJHUD) June 14, 2023
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris recognized Juneteenth as a federal holiday in 2021 to ensure that all Americans felt “the power of [the] day, learn from our history, celebrate our progress, and recognize and engage in the work that continues.”
Before the “Spotlight” singer took the stage, Biden delivered a moving speech about moving forward.
“Folks, my message of these occasions, on this Juneteenth day, is we gotta go forward. We have to move forward together,” he stated. “When we choose to protect the freedoms we all deserve when they are attacked, that’s when we cannot remain silent. Silence is complicity. To heal the wounds of divisions so racism no longer tears us apart. We have to choose to be believers in our dream. Doers of the world.”
He continued, “As the gospel song goes, ‘We’ve come too far from where we started. Nobody told me the road would be easy. I don’t believe he brought me this far to leave me.’ My fellow Americans, I don’t think the Lord brought us this far…to leave us behind. We just have to remember who we are. We’re the United States of America. There’s nothing, nothing beyond our capacity when we act together.”
Biden ended with, “Let’s get the job done.”
