Robert Garcia, a Democratic House Representative from California, has revealed why he chose to stan Beyoncé in a viral speech on the floor of the House.
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On March 1, Garcia delivered a passionate nearly two-minute-long speech on the House Floor celebrating Beyoncé’s recent record-breaking Grammy’s success — using the multi-platinum vocalist’s legacy as a bridge to commemorating both the end of Black History Month and the beginning of Women’s History Month. In an interview with TMZ on Capitol Hill hours after his speech, Garcia expanded on what inspired the presentation, explaining his belief Bey is a “legend” and was the “perfect,” person for the tribute.
“I mean listen, I think Beyoncé is a legend,” Garcia started off. “I mean not only is she an inspiration to millions of people in this country around the world but she just made Grammy history and so she’s the perfect person to honor.”
Garcia, who is the first openly gay immigrant to serve in Congress, continued, revealing how long he’s been a fan and remarking on how she “changed,” his life.
“I personally happen to be in a huge Beyoncé fan started going to her concerts when she was you know Destiny’s Child changed my life,” he said. “So I want to honor her on the U.S House on the floor and obviously she’s having an incredible year and so yeah congratulations to Mrs Carter. Beyoncé is just the best.”
https://twitter.com/TMZ/status/1631211120483618818?s=20
The California native went on to detail the high regard and “respect,” he has for Beyoncé, who he described as both an “activist,’ and a “leader,” and the undisputed “queen,” of pop and R&B music.
“Well first, I mean, she’s a global superstar — in my opinion she’s the queen of Pop and R&B period, the best of all time, but she’s also incredible activists and a leader,” Garcia said in part. “I mean she’s stood up for voting rights, for feminism, for women and girls, for the LGBTQ+ Community, me being an openly gay person in Congress, and so she’s always stood up for everybody and I respect that immensely.”
Garcia concluded by declaring himself a member of the Beyhive while also explaining his belief that even though he is the first person to give a tribute speech to Beyoncé on the house floor, there are so many other people like him who want to honor her legacy as a whole.
“So I think that there’s a lot of us that want to recognize her body of work, not just the Grammy wins but the kind of person that she is and so I’m happy that, you know, I’ve done the first floor speech, I think in history about Beyoncé,” he said. “And uh you know it was a great moment I’m happy to honor anytime — Beyhive I’m a member.”
During his speech, Garcia made multiple references to key Beyoncé tracks, such as “Partition,” as he declared Queen Bey is, “so much more than a performer and a singer. She’s a creator and an artist. When the radio said to speed it up, she went slower.”
Rep. Garcia, who is the 28th Mayor of Long Beach, also spoke about how Beyoncé should be considered an “American hero,” and how she is an icon for “millions,” of people, in addition to speaking about her contributions to marginalized communities.
“People celebrate American excellence all the time in Congress,” Garcia said. “There’s American excellence by teachers, by the medical community, by elected officials, by folks that served our country honorably in the military. These are all American heroes. Beyoncé in her own way is also an American hero.”
He continued, “And for millions of people in our country, she is an icon, she’s an inspiration, she’s someone that actually impacts people’s lives. And so I think it’s important to celebrate different kinds of people, especially as we’re celebrating the contributions of Black Americans and women in this country, she’s an incredible example of an American icon and I was happy to honor her.”
Garcia tweeted immediately following his speech, “Proud to give the first Congressional tribute ever to @Beyonce on the floor of the U.S. House ✌🏽🐝.”
Check out Garcia’s full speech below.
Proud to give the first Congressional tribute ever to @Beyonce on the floor of the U.S. House ✌🏽🐝 https://t.co/T8cIuZIwl9
— Robert Garcia (@RobertGarcia) March 1, 2023