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On Wednesday night, A&E brought some of the brightest musical talents under one roof for the network’s Shining a Light: A Concert for Progress on Race in America event.
Performers included John Legend, Sia, Alicia Keys, Ed Sheeran, Zac Brown Band and Miguel. The benefit show addressed the ongoing racial conflicts in the country and raised money for United Way Worldwide.
“Any solutions have to begin with dialogue, and we want to help get that dialogue going,” said Pharrell Williams, who performed in the Mother Emanuel church — where the Charleston, S.C., shootings took place this past June — in one of the segments, according to the L.A. Times.
Nicki Minaj was also one of the night’s speakers, offering her own rendition of the Maya Angelou 1978 poem “Still I Rise.” Dressed in a shimmery black and gold Balmain number, the rapper’s rendition oozed with girl power. The crowd even cheered after she read the verse:
“Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I’ve got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?”
See Minaj’s special poetry reading below before the two-hour concert special airs in full on Nov. 20 at 8 p.m. on A&E.
This article originally appeared on Billboard.com.
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