Don't Let it Get Away

The meaning behind Gabrielle Giffords' wake-up song shuttle repeat

For Gabrielle Giffords and Mark Kelly, it's a "Beautiful Day."
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Space shuttle Endeavour lifts off.
Gabrielle Giffords and Mark Kelly

In 2006, when Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and astronaut Mark Kelly were still yet to be married, Giffords lovingly arrived at Kennedy Space Center for her boyfriend's shuttle launch. For that mission, she chose the crew's "wake-up song," a tradition in place since the Apollo Program in which astronauts are serenaded by their colleagues in mission control with lyrics from popular songs that seem appropriate for the occasion.

Gabby's esprit de corps track? U2's euphoric single, "Beautiful Day."

That inspirational single received a reprise today when Gabby, along with Kelly's daughters from a previous marriage, chose "Beautiful Day" as the wake-up song for Kelly and his crews' first morning in space aboard the space shuttle Endeavour. According to the Associated Press, Kelly radioed this morning, "It's good to be waking up in space again. I want to thank Gabby, Claudia and Claire for that great wake up song. It's always good to hear U2 and 'Beautiful Day' in space."

Listen closely, and it becomes clear that "Beautiful Day" recounts the story of a character who has suffered loss, but persists to find beauty. More than ever, such lyrics resonate with Giffords and Kelly as the Arizona congresswoman recovers from a gunshot to the head received in a Jan. 8 Tucson shooting. Making her first trips out of Houston since arriving at the renowned TIRR Memorial Hermann to rehabilitate, Giffords flew to Cape Canaveral on two occasions to witness the Endeavour's final launch.

She gazed from her wheelchair on the roof of the launch control center during Monday's successful liftoff, repeating, "Good stuff, good stuff," according to reports.

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Thanks, Queen Bey

Pop icon Beyoncé donates $100,000 to University of Houston Law School

Photo by Erza Shaw Getty Images

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Pop megastar Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has donated $100,000 to the University of Houston Law Center Criminal Justice Clinic through her BeyGOOD Foundation. The gift will allow the clinic to hire fill-time faculty to head it, benefiting the students who study there.

“I am delighted that the BeyGOOD Foundation has made this very generous gift to the UH Law Center,” said Leonard Baynes, dean of the UH Law Center. “Not only will this funding help establish a full-time criminal justice clinic that provides pro bono legal services in our community, but it will also supercharge our already excellent criminal law and justice programming.”

The clinic is one of nine at UHLC. It helps students learn to navigate the criminal justice system, especially on behalf of clients that are underserved by skilled attorneys. People of color are affected disproportionately by a lack of good, ethical representation.

Beyoncé, the most decorated artist in Grammy history and easily the biggest musical star native to Houston, has a long history of advocating for criminal justice reform. She was a staunch supporter of the police reform following the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, asking law enforcement to “stop killing us” in a web post. In 2020, she penned an open letter to the Kentucky attorney general asking for justice in the death of Breonna Taylor.

Through her BeyGOOD Foundation, established in 2013, Beyoncé has focused mostly on expanding the prospects of Black-owned business and offering education opportunities to students. Forwarding the cause of legal representation in Texas while also helping out marginalized communities compliments her other philanthropic work.

“At UH Law, we envision a legal profession where ‘everyone has the opportunity to prosper,’ as BeyGOOD envisions, and we will achieve this vision by providing access to strong and effective legal representation in criminal proceedings,” Baynes said. “And together, through this gift, the BeyGOOD Foundation and UHLC will shepherd the next generation of criminal justice attorneys in the city of Houston, the state of Texas and the nation.”