Black Power Beyoncé!

For a long time i’ve been meaning to write a post addressing race relations (yes, it’s still a thing and a problem) in the US. And i never thought Beyoncé would be the catalyst..

I used to be a huge fan of Beyoncé when i was a teen, listening to Destiny’s Child and Dangerously In Love…and then it fizzled out when i disagreed with some of her creative choices. To each their own. I still think she is very beautiful and a talented woman, but i just don’t agree with oversexualising your image when you have real talent. ANYWAY.

The Superbowl has to be one of the most watched live broadcasts the world over and mainly because of who gets to perform at half-time. And with the Internet nowadays, anyone and everyone can watch, rewatch, gif it, meme it, tweet it and do basically whatever you want with it! I’m sure in time you’ll probably be able to even marry it…who knows!

This year’s Superbowl wasn’t just any other anniversary but a reflective look back at all those who have performed on it’s plush, green fields, including of course my idol and hero, Michael Jackson. It was no surprise that this year’s retrospective performance acted as more of a tribute to those that had come before and even consisted of certain similar visuals to Superbowl XXVII. I believe that was Beyoncé’s doing, to not only wear a similar female version of Michael’s costume, but also give out a social message of love and peace with audience participation.

But that’s not all she did. And that was by no means the only social message…

She even went as far as to stand up for her people, in solidarity with their plight of racism on a daily basis. And how she did this is nothing short of inspiring. She performed her song Formation in the form of an ‘X’ to pay tribute to Malcolm X and what he stood for. But more than that, it was getting her back-up dancers, an all black troupe, to dress as Black Panthers right down to the berets and afros. A bold statement. And a fitting one considering it is also the 50th Anniversary of the Black Panthers being formed.

A quick summary of who the Black Panthers were/are: often wrongly considered as a terrorist group, the Panthers were actually formed in 1966 by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale to educate the black community on the practice of self-defense. It was another means for black people to stand united against white supremacy and a way of showing the world that they weren’t going to take things lying down. Agreed, many members went to extremes using military tactics and weaponry. But it’s fundamental reason for being was purely self-defense and to protest against racial intolerance towards black people.

By Beyoncé putting on this display, she not only reminded us of where Civil Rights has reached (which arguably is not where it should be at all) but she has reawakened the Black Panther Movement and made sure that her people and fans know, that just because she is rich and famous, that she has not forgotten who she is and she isn’t blind to what is going on in America every single day.

Every single day in America, and i’m sure the world over, black men, women and children are being needlessly beaten, killed or imprisoned by Police. Why? Not because they actually committed a crime, but because they made the mistake of being black. What’s worse is the world hardly hears of these things unless it gets onto the news, which is a mission in itself. We all know about Trayvon Martin. Some of you may even know of Sandra Bland. These are just 2 cases. There are atrocities like this being committed daily and nothing seems to be changing.

Did any of you hear about what happened in Mizzou in November last year? Or how about the black Police Officer in New York who was shot and killed on his dayoff by members of his precinct because he was in plain clothes, crossing the street and ‘looked like someone’…? If it hadn’t been on Social Media i wouldn’t have either. In Mizzou, there were actual groups of white supremacists in pick-up trucks with firearms, attacking coloured students and teachers purely because they were not white. The University, including all faculty were evacuated. There were tweets, photos and live videos at the time of people being terrorised all of which have now ‘magically’ disappeared.

We all think ‘oh Civil Rights happened and it’s over. Black people can vote now and get the same jobs and go to the same schools’. Yes, to an extent but the brutality hasn’t stopped. And as for equal opportunities and rights…black people still have to fight twice as hard and be three times as lucky to get where they want to be. The stigmas are all still firmly in place. White Privilege is very real. By denying it’s existence is contributing to it and the very problem at hand. Instead use your privilege to help eradicate this problem like it was done in South Africa.

And i know it’s not just black people. It’s people of all colours, creeds and religions. But why i’m writing about this today is because of the sheer ridiculousness of the backlash Beyoncé has received over her ‘racist’ music video and this ‘aggressive’ and ‘wrong’ Superbowl performance. It’s amazing that because she made a song about Black Power and Black Lives Matter, featuring an all black cast, she is now suddenly racist. What about the countless adverts, movies, TV shows, music videos etc. that have only white people?!?! But that’s different i suppose. How about all the times Beyoncé has actually used a multi-race cast in all of her videos and tours?!?! This was a black topic. It would look mighty odd if white people were dressed as Black Panthers don’t you think….

As for aggressive, all they did was form an X to her song formation, march a little and moved straight into Uptown Funk with Bruno Mars. There were no chants, no slogans, no anger no nothing. It was a respectful and artistic display. And honestly, it has made me respect her again. Something a lot of Bey fans couldn’t make me do. And i mean i was TOTALLY off her.

Jessica Williams explains it much better here. What makes me more mad is that there are countless bands and acts that have performed on many platforms, making use of racial and offensive iconography. But no one says anything about that…

There are so many reports of corruption and injustice, that i wouldn’t even know where to start and where to stop. These are things that should have been solved, things we should have moved on from in this day and age. How are we still here? It makes me sad. When will it all change? When will it stop?

This criticism Beyoncé is facing is completely inappropriate. As an artist, on a huge public platform, she had a right to inform the world and stand up for what her people were going through and what she believes in. There are so many celebrities out there who claim to be certain things but do absolutely nothing to support them. For example, the Kardashians. As much as i like them, what have they done for black people? 90% of the family only dates black men and women. One is married to a black man. All of this crime against these people they apparently love and support and what do they do about it? Nothing. The only time they spoke out was during the Sandra Bland scandal and that too after numerous people criticised the family on Twitter. Kim, aren’t your children black? Don’t you worry about the world they’ll grow up in if they ever get that chance? I mean they probably will because they’re parents are rich and famous. But other kids, the same age won’t be so lucky. And for today, that is a terrifying thought. That even a 9 year old, standing on a street corner with his toys in the afternoon can get shot by a cop because he ‘looked’ like someone or looked threatening. But it’s happened. It happens everyday.

Today i even saw this..now what do i say about that… Black lives do matter. Coloured people are human too. Do we still think it was wrong for Beyoncé to stand up against it? I don’t think so.  It’s time instead that more people, black, white and everyone in between, stand up and fight for justice. Fight against racism. It’s not about weapons and violence, but being heard and making a change. It’s 2016, it won’t end unless we do it.

P.S. In cased you missed it, here’s her performance… Take a look and see what you think..

For the full Superbowl performance click here!

UPDATE:

Youtube has blocked and deleted Beyoncé’s performance because it is ‘offensive’. On top of that, people are now wrongly comparing the Black Panthers to the KKK. This is the most unjust comparison you can come up with. A group that was created to protect oppressed and brutalised people is being compared to a group of people that did the terrorising and oppressing…wow…