Last Wednesday morning I woke up to the best text of my life. My mom had texted my sister and I, that she got us tickets to Beyoncé’s Formation tour! As you can imagine, I was ecstatic. And despite all the blow Beyoncé has been getting for her recent performance at the Super Bowl, I still am.
Now, before I continue, I want everyone to know I did not write this article simply to bash other people’s opinions about this sensitive matter, but rather to clear up the ignorance surrounding the situation and to give Queen Bey back her positive name.
What pushed me over the edge to the point of writing this article was a disturbing video I came across, in which a young blonde reporter spends two minutes completely discrediting Beyoncé’s whole Super Bowl halftime performance. Here is the link, for those of you who think you have the patience enough to sit through these two minutes of hell.
What disturbs me most about this video is that people are using this as a credible source of information, when in reality it’s just an ignorant, opinion-based rant.
But besides that, I have multiple other qualms with this video, and for good reason. One in particular is when Lahren, the speaker in the video, says Beyoncé’s halftime show was simply a way to “politicize and advance the notion that black lives matter more.” No. Just no. The epitome of the performance was to advance the notion that black lives matter in general. This is a racial group that was previously enslaved and still dealing with the aftermath of racial prejudice. Sorry, but you don’t get to sit here and tell them what they are fighting for.
Also, I was particularly upset and completely taken back by the ignorant comparison of the Black Panther Party to the Klu-Klux-Klan. In what world does an anti-racism group that defends the power of the oppressed even closely compare to a racist white supremacist group that was founded upon the basic principles of hatred and violence?
Just to clear up some of the stigma surrounding the Black Panther Party, while it was a more violent approach in juxtaposition to Martin Luther King’s peaceful protest for equality, viewing the BPP solely as such would be wrong. The Black Panther Party created a Free Food Program and Free Medical Research Health Clinics to provide food and basic health care to those who couldn’t afford it (C N Trueman “The Black Panthers”). The KKK, on the other hand, exemplified completely immoral activity, such as bombing black schools and churches whilst running around in white supremacist robes (“Klu-Klux-Klan”).
I understand that the reason Beyoncé’s halftime show and her new “Formation” video are really bugging people is because they think Beyoncé is suddenly anti-law enforcement. People have been non-stop complaining that she demanded a police escort to the Super Bowl, and then publicly embarrassed authority. There is even a “Boycott Beyoncé” page on Facebook and a hashtag going around, which I find particularly disturbing.
Let’s get one thing straight: Beyoncé’s intentions with her new video and halftime show were not simply to express her “hatred” for authority. Both serve to prove a point. In her video, a young boy kneels down to succumb to a line of policemen, which bothers many people because they think it portrays policemen in a negative, violent manner. However, the true point of this scene in the video is to reference recent occurrences of police brutality (i.e. Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Michael Brown). These are real things that actually happened, and Beyoncé wants to get people to keep talking about them. Beyoncé is actually doing something here with her song “Formation” that has existed forever; “Formation” is a song of protest. We have seen this before with artists such as Bob Dylan, Bob Marley, Bruce Springsteen, etc., so why is it all of a sudden such a huge issue?
As a celebrity with many fans, Beyoncé is highly credible and powerful, so to speak. She has always been a huge advocate of feminism and female rights, and has shown us this through her songs (i.e., probably the most popular, “Flawless”). So why isn’t she allowed to advocate for the color of her skin? She shows us how proud she is of her color through her “Formation” lyrics:
I like my baby hair, with baby hair and afros/ I like my negro nose with Jackson Five nostrils” and references her nationality with, “You mix that negro with that Creole get a Texas bama
At the end of the day, Beyoncé is black. She doesn’t have to continue to cater to white audiences (but that is not to say that they can’t enjoy it!) Beyoncé can make music for everyone. She is allowed to address her race, no matter how uncomfortable it makes people feel. I hope this article helped clear up some of the misconceptions surrounding this whole situation, and I hope to see all you BEY fans at her concert this June.