Photo courtesy of Daily Mail
Beyoncé justifiably embraces black culture, pride
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The Denver Broncos may have smashed the Jacksonville Panthers, but the highlight of Super Bowl 50 was Beyoncé’s half-time performance. Unapologetic, controversial, and fiercely black, Beyoncé’s performance was exactly what America needed in addressing rising racial tension over the past few years.
Clad in Black Panther inspired outfits and afros, Beyoncé and her backup dancers performed her new single, “Formation.” With lyrics like “I like my baby heir with baby hair and afros; I like my negro nose with Jackson Five nostrils,” Beyoncé drew attention to black culture and championed black pride. Even so, this expression of “blackness” received unnecessary backlash.
New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and other critics chastised Beyoncé for not using her fame to spread a message of respecting law enforcement. What these critics fail to respect is that African Americans make up a disproportionately overwhelming number of police violence victims.
Beyonce had every right to be critical and politically charged in her performance, especially when racism is examined in the American criminal system. Over the past few years, blacks were noticeable victims of excessive police violence. Police officers choked Eric Garner to death after he pleaded his inability to breathe, and in Cleveland, they killed 12 year-old Tamir Rice for brandishing an airsoft pistol. Another example of the large amount of racist sentiment in America lies in the prison system’s population of blacks. African Americans make up 39.4% of the prison and jail population when they only make up 12% of the population in the United States, which demonstrates the extent to which they are unreasonably incarcerated.
If anything, Beyoncé should be applauded for promoting equality and speaking out against racism. Even 52 years after the Civil Rights Act of 1964, racism against African Americans still manifests itself. Institutionalized racism is still being practiced today and has prompted the Black Lives Matter movement, which began after the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson two years ago. The fact that Beyoncé promoted such a message in the Super Bowl, a nationally watched event, makes the message all the more potent.
The controversy the performance stirred is exactly what America needs because it encourages thought on the issue of endemic racial tension in a constructive way. Time has proven that blacks are still marginalized by the government institution. With racially charged police shootings against blacks, cultural and political changes must take place., and through a single Super Bowl performance, Beyoncé successfully brought awareness to racism and racial profiling by being herself, black and proud.
