Ciara has dropped the fierce video for her tribute to Black excellence, “Rooted,” which was filmed just two days before she gave birth to her third child, Winn Harrison, who was born three weeks ago. The booming track, which features additional vocals from Ester Dean, finds Ciara ready to pop, her pregnant belly on full display in the clip, which also features cameos from her other two kids, Future and Sienna.
Her hair flowing and belly prominent, Ciara sings, “All my songs come with melanin/ Got the heart, got the soul like Harriett/ A queen since she born, that was evident/ That’s evidence, of black excellence,” as images of Black dancers, families and young mothers fill the screen as the singer pays tribute to Black beauty in all its forms. One poignant moment also features a teenage girl wearing a tribute shirt to Breonna Taylor with an image of the woman who was killed by police in Louisville in March with the airbrushed tagline that has come to define the pleas for justice in the case: “Say Her Name.”
It also contains footage of Black Lives Matter protesters and images of marchers holding up images of George Floyd, the Black Minneapolis man whose death at the hands of police has, with the killing of Taylor, helped spark a worldwide movement demanding racial justice and police reform.
At the end of the visual directed by Annie Bercy, Ciara shares a very important message. “To all my young Rosa’s and Young Luther’s keep marching,” she says. “Don’t stop fighting for what you believe in. To all my Black queens and kings, continue to plant and spread seeds of love, hope and pride in your tribe. Everything you need to survive and thrive is rooted in you. Stay rooted.” Proceeds from the song will support Grantmakers for Girls of Color, a philanthropy focused on cultivating investments in support of girls of color in the U.S.
Watch the “Rooted” video below.