Beyonce Speaks Out!

I admit I have been a big Beyonce fan since I was a little girl in primary school listening to Destiny's Child. She is one of the most powerful black female musicians of our generation. However I did realise that Beyonce rarely spoke out about issues faced by African Americans. This confused me, but then I thought it was because she didn't want to tarnish her image since she has a huge non-black fan base. However when I saw the 'Formation' video I was very surprised but I loved the imagery  that was used throughout the video. She took it back to her southern black roots. She referenced hurricane Katrina, Mardi Gras which is part of New Orleans culture,  Martin Luther King, the black church etc.

One of my favourite lines in the song is "I like my baby hair with baby hair and afro's/ I like my negro nose with Jackson 5 nostrils" I loved those lines because she came back at those critics who always spoke negatively about Blue Ivy's hair and Jay Z's wide nose. Having afro hair and a wide nose are common features in people of African descent but due to our europeanised standard of beauty those features are seen as "ugly". I like the fact that she embraces these African features.




The most powerful imagery in the whole video was the scene of the boy in a hoodie dancing in front of policemen who hold their hands up and on the wall it says "Stop shooting us" in reference to the police brutality against african americans.

I was excited when I saw Beyonce's Super Bowl performance with her wearing a Michael Jackson style jacket and her back up dancers with their big beautiful afro hair and wearing berets similar to those worn by the Black Panthers. It has been 50 years since the formation of the Black Panther Party. It was refreshing to see so many beautiful black women because we do not often see that many black women with their natural hair in the media, only the odd few.

However there has been a lot of hate and criticism towards Beyonce in relation to her performance and there is an anti-Beyonce protest organised against her. I've seen a lot of critics say how Beyonce is anti-police and that she is racist and is wrong for paying homage to the Black Panther Party which is a terrorist organisation. Seeing this nonsense angers me. For an African American to speak out against police brutality which predominantly affects their race and for them to be perceived as if they are the villain disgusts me. Countless black people have been killed by the police, it is black people and their families that are the victims and the ones suffering. But asking to not be killed i.e. "Don't shoot" makes you a racist? police are supposed to protect and serve citizens not use excessive force by killing unarmed black people who do not pose a serious threat.

I am also sick of hearing about the Black Panther party being a black extremist/racist/terrorist group. The Black Panther Party was created in 1966 by Bobby Seale and Huey Newton in response to the violence and mistreatment suffered by African Americans by white americans. The party protected and helped black communities, it  provided free breakfast for children and even worked alongside white groups who wanted to help gain equality for black people. They fought against police brutality, fought for civil rights and equality in areas such as employment, housing and education. They believed in arming themselves as a means of protection and self defence, after all they were exercising their constitutional right of bearing arms. However their aim was not to harm or kill people like groups such as the KKK did.  Because of the growth of the party and its success, they were seen as a threat by the government. The FBI did all they could to destroy the party. Many members of the Black Panthers were killed by police, many were arrested and harassed, the group was infiltrated and eventually destroyed.

Its a shame that speaking out against racism makes you a "racist" and trying to fight for equality makes you a "terrorist" but the people that are giving these labels are the true racists who fear when blacks speak out against their ill treatment. I am proud of what Beyonce did, using her superstar status on a huge platform like the Super Bowl which was watched by a billion people worldwide to address an ongoing social and political issue. I believe in equality for all and support anybody regardless of race who tries to make a positive difference. Like Beyonce said at the end of Formation "You know you that bitch when you cause all this conversation"