Beyoncé’s release of her new song “Formation” Feb. 6 and subsequent Super Bowl performance of the song Feb. 7 sparked both passionate support and heated outrage across the nation. Its lyrics and accompanying video comment on police brutality, Hurricane Katrina, Eurocentric beauty standards and black disempowerment, among other things. With much Black Lives Matter movement-eqsue imagery, many immediately wrote off the song as “racist” and an attack on police.
The overarching themes of the song, video and performance all relate to black pride. In the face of disproportionate police violence against people of color, the glorification of white beauty standards and overwhelming animosity toward pro-black movements like the Black Lives Matter movement, Beyoncé tells African Americans to feel proud of themselves and their heritage. One of the song’s lyrics reads, “I like my baby heir with baby hair and afros/I like my Negro nose with Jackson Five nostrils,” referring to stereotypes about African Americans’ physical traits that are often criticized. What part of that is racist? Being pro-black does not equate to being anti-white.
Beyoncé was also heavily criticized for the use of Black Panther imagery in her Super Bowl performance. Her dancers sported leather outfits, black berets and afros and have been pictured raising their fists as a symbol of black power, which many said promoted violence. Maybe the Black Panther Party was violent at times when it was active, but that wasn’t everything the group stood for. The party was originally founded as the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, created in 1966 as a direct result of the brutal violence and discrimination African Americans faced. The group challenged police brutality and pioneered community outreach programs regarding education, medical service, legal aid, food for the hungry and more. The party is a symbol of black pride and self-reliance, not senseless violence.
In addition, is it really anti-cop to flash graffiti across the screen in the music video that says “Stop shooting us”? The job of a police officer is to keep everyone safe, regardless of race. Police killed over 100 unarmed African Americans in 2015; more than any other race. No one thinks all cops are bad people individually, but all cops participate in the system that disproportionately imprisons and incites violence against people of color. This must be criticized. Beyoncé’s perch atop a sinking New Orleans police cruiser in the music video is a direct criticism of the federal government’s slow and ineffective reaction to Hurricane Katrina, which hit the poor, mostly minority areas of New Orleans the hardest. That’s not anti-police. That’s anti-racism. That’s anti-suffering.
For hundreds of years, people of color have been controlled and made lesser by whites. White men control nearly the entire power structure of the United States and always have. Black people have faced slavery and disproportionate amounts of violence. They have been routinely given less access to land, housing and education, and they have been excessively punished by the court system. White people are not overlooked for jobs because of the color of their skin or their natural hair or because of “ghetto” names. White people are not racially profiled and shot simply because of their skin color. Prejudice toward any group is never a good thing, but it doesn’t affect people institutionally the way racism against minorities does.
Beyoncé had every right to use her platform as a well-known artist to speak out about the problems affecting her race. She addressed prevalent issues facing the nation and took pride in her history and heritage through the art form on which her relevance has been built. Now that she has spoken up, it is our job to support her. Those of other races will never be able to fully understand the level of dehumanization and struggle that African Americans have experienced, and we can in no way speak for races other than our own. However, if equality is truly our goal, we need to recognize and acknowledge the privilege our race allows us and lift up the voices of those who aren’t so fortunate.
– By Becca Heilman