Stevie Wonder championed love (and mentioned the vice president) while speaking at Duke Faker's funeral. During a final farewell to the Four Tops star on Friday, Wonder performed two gospel songs and paid tribute to Kamala Harris.
After singing the “Lord’s Prayer” and sharing a quick “Amen” with the crowd at Hartford Memorial Baptist Church, Wonder simply said the name of the presumptive Democratic nominee, “Kamala Harris.” He paused as the crowd continued to applaud and repeated, “Kamala Harris. There I am, I said it.”
Before singing at the service, Wonder celebrated Fakir's legacy and called for a focus on love instead of hate. “We Michiganders cannot allow hate to take over our state or our country,” he said to applause. “This is the voice of young America. Listen. We have to understand that we are once again challenged by things that we cannot allow to happen again.”
“We can't let negativity take away our love, we can't do that,” he added.
Harris and Wonder met the day before Faker's funeral when the politician and singer paid tribute to Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee at a funeral in Arizona. Harris has been a lifelong fan of Wonder's, sharing in 2019 that her favorite album of all time is Wonder's Songs in the Key of LifeShe also shared a post for Wonder's birthday in 2020, calling him a “living legend and old hero of mine.”
A representative for Wonder did not immediately confirm that the comment was an endorsement of Harris' candidacy and did not respond to rolling stoneRequest comment.
Wonder has been known for his political involvement in the past. In addition to endorsing local races, he endorsed Biden for president in 2020 and sang “Happy Birthday” to Hillary Clinton after endorsing her in 2016. “The truth is I think we as men have the opportunity to solve this problem,” he said at the time. “It’s time for women to do it.”
Among those attending Fakir’s funeral on Friday were Martha Reeves and Claudette Robinson. President Joe Biden and former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton sent written statements that were read on stage, according to the FBI. Detroit Free Press.
Fakir died on July 22 at the age of 88 after suffering heart failure. He was the last surviving member of Motown's “Reach Out I'll Be There” group.
