THE RUNDOWN
- Beyoncé’s daughters, Blue Ivy and Rumi Carter, joined her at the opening event for the Knowles-Rowland House in Houston.
- Beyoncé invited them onstage to help cut the ribbon.
- The Knowles-Rowland House is affiliated with Beyoncé’s childhood church and will provide housing units to people who are homeless.
Beyoncé’s daughters, 14-year-old Blue Ivy and 9-year-old Rumi Carter, joined their mother this week for a particularly poignant, full-circle moment for the singer: the opening of the Knowles-Rowland House in Houston, which will provide housing to people who are chronically homeless. The center is affiliated with Beyoncé’s childhood church, St. John’s Downtown.
Beyoncé motioned for her children to join her onstage, with both Rumi and Blue Ivy helping cut the ribbon to mark the center’s new beginning.
You can watch the big moment at the end of the video below:
The space was originally the Knowles-Rowland Center for Youth, a gymnasium and youth center built in 1999 with funds from Destiny’s Child’s first single. The building was damaged by Hurricane Harvey in 2017 and a fire in 2021; it has now been repurposed into 31 units of supportive housing.
“Residents will have access to a range of social services, including case management, mental health counseling, substance abuse treatment, life skills training, and nutrition assistance through a partnership with Temenos Community Development Corporation, Bread of Life’s sister organization,” the church’s nonprofit affiliate Bread of Life wrote on the house’s webpage.
Kelly Rowland and Beyoncé have been longtime members of St. John’s Downtown. Both spoke during the opening, with Beyoncé discussing how many memories she has there.
“I made the choice on my own to be baptized because I felt the spirit here, and I feel the spirit right now, and I’m so grateful for that foundation,” she said. “And I love you, I love you, and there ain’t nothing you can do about it.”
Beyoncé’s mom, Tina Knowles, discussed how she had Beyoncé, Solange Knowles, and Rowland volunteer there when they were kids. “We used to serve meals here after church,” she said, adding, “It was the best thing I could’ve done for them. And because of that, I have these beautiful young women [Beyoncé and Rowland] that have hearts and empathy, and they give, and they work, and they do things to give back to the community. And I have this place to thank for that because God always gives you what you need at the time that you need it. And I needed a place to teach them.”
This marks Blue and Rumi’s first appearance in months, with Blue most recently appearing at the Met Gala this May.
Beyoncé has kept her children largely out of the spotlight. As she told GQ in September 2024, “One thing I’ve worked extremely hard on is making sure my kids can have as much normalcy and privacy as possible, ensuring my personal life isn’t turned into a brand. It’s very easy for celebrities to turn our lives into performance art. I have made an extreme effort to stay true to my boundaries and protect myself and my family. No amount of money is worth my peace.”