Since we are in Black History month, there have been many performances in the media lately that have reflected the daily struggles of the modern black individual in the society we live in today. Beyoncé told black girls to love their wide noses and baby hairs, while Kendrick lamented the death of Trayvon Martin at the Grammys and performed in chains.
Beyoncé debuted her song “Formation” and received adverse reactions from media and news sources. She then performed at the Superbowl halftime show with an all-black female dance crew, dressed as the Black Panther party from the 1960s. The amount of backlash the BEYoutiful star received was a little less enthusiastic about her homage to the black socialist organization.
White conservatives screamed the racist card and felt as though her performance was praising an “evil” group of black radicals. What most white people do not know, since it has not been taught mostly in schooling, is that the Black Panther party focused on the American right to “bear arms.” People feared them naturally because, as is still seen today, a black person with a gun is a serious threat. They also were known for creating a sense of belonging and community. They would have soup kitchens for the poor, inner city youth of the area. They were not an “evil” group. They were citizens of the United States that bought guns legally and had them registered. The fact that people were in an uproar about that in the 1960s is self-explanatory. The reason for the uproar today really depends on how well people do their research.
A week later, Kendrick Lamar performed his song “Blacker The Berry” while in chains. His band played beside him locked in their prison cells for a political performance. The message was clear that the incarceration levels for black males in the United States are at an unfair rate when compared to their white male counterparts. The rapper released his chains and transitioned his way to another section of the stage, revealing a bonfire and African dancers. He performed his hit song and anthem for the Black Lives Matter movement, “Alright.” The African dancers jumped and danced their way around the artists as he rapped away. Lamar made his way back to the other side of stage to rap a never before heard song with lyrics like, “On February 26, I lost my life too,” and “2012 was taken for the world to see, set us back another 400 years.” He erupted the rap with flashes and different camera angles, and then finished with a screen of Africa and the words “Compton” inside the continent.
Kendrick Lamar relates to February 26 because it marks the date that George Zimmerman took Trayvon Martin’s life away. He then talks about 2012 setting us back 400 years because it brings America back to a time when slavery was relevant and very much alive.
These performances show that black artists are no longer going to keep their political selves hidden from the injustices they see in society. Black artists have now learned that they do not have to necessarily risk their careers to create and perform their unapologetically black art. Artists like Beyoncé and Kendrick Lamar show that you can be a successful black artist, but also state your mind on the injustices you see in society. No one is going to boycott Beyoncé (they tried it, but no one even showed up), and at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards, Lamar walked away with five Grammys (including best rap album and best rap performance).
Little discussions like the #OscarsSoWhite or Beyoncé’s “Formation” video show that black artists are taking into account the disadvantages they have been dealt with in the music or film industries. People need to recognize that there is a problem when people of color have to step up and actually “perform” for you the actualization of reality. This is the problem! Hello, please do change! No one should bash Beyoncé for carrying hot sauce in her bag (swag) or decide that saying “stop shooting us” is automatically racist. Black History is covered with police brutality, and so is today’s media.
People need to think about this. “Why should a black mother tell her son to be careful of police officers? Where did she learn that?” People learn by experience.
The performances were a great step in having artists that seem so distant, like Beyoncé and Kendrick Lamar, come back to regular everyday people who are struggling to live in America. Learn to imagine what it is like to walk in another race's shoes. It will give you some perspective. People of color in the United States will remain unworried, because at the end of the day, we know, "We gon' be alright."
