On Friday, while eulogizing Rev. Clementa Pinckney, the slain pastor of Charleston's Emanuel AME Church, President Obama broke into song, leading the congregation and mourners in a round of "Amazing Grace." On Sunday, before the BET Awards in California, The Associated Press asked some of the gathered black actors and musical artists what they thought of that moment. Everyone AP talked to was enthusiastic.
Laverne Cox went a little off topic, but one artist after another — Smokey Robinson, Big Sean, Gabrielle Union — talked about the joy and catharsis it brought them, and what it meant watching the president of the United States humble himself in song before the mourners and the nation. You can watch the interviews below. Peter Weber
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