A lot has already been said about Beyonce’s performance during the halftime show for the Super Bowl. I want to use this article to dispel some of the more nonsensical things that I’ve seen concerning the matter.
As we all know, Beyonce performed her surprise single “Formation” the day after it debuted, and during the performance, she paid homage to Michael Jackson’s 1993 halftime show performance with her outfit. She also paid tribute to the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Black Panthers with her dancers’ outfits.
First of all, it seems that many members of the white community were very offended by the imagery of the Black Panthers at the Super Bowl, and it is for this reason that they are hosting an anti-Beyonce rally at the NFL Headquarters on Tuesday, February 16. Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani said that the show was “outrageous” because “she used it as a platform to attack police officers who are the people who protect her and protect us, and keep us alive.” Well just in case you haven’t noticed yet, Mr. Giuliani, the police have not been doing the best job at protecting black lives. And the idea that Beyonce’s performance and the Black Panthers themselves were anti-police is a sign of ignorance and historical misrepresentation.
TheBlack Panther Party for Self-Defense was founded in October 1966 in California by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale. The members of the Black Panthers did arm themselves and carry loaded weapons in public, but only as a means to protect themselves and minority communities. This was during a time when police brutality was a reality of everyday life for the black community in America, as it still is today. The Black Panthers were expressing their Second Amendment right to bear arms in order to fight for the equality of oppressed minorities. The Black Panthers had their 10-Point Program, which outlined the things they wanted for the black community. Some of these were freedom, employment, decent housing, education, peace, justice, and an end to police brutality, which are things that, 50 years later, we are still fighting for today. Also, the Black Panthers were very active in serving the black community. During the existence of the party, they set up free breakfast programs, medical clinics, and after-school programs. There is a difference between being anti-police and being anti-police brutality. There is nothing wrong with being anti-oppression. It is of the utmost importance that people like Mayor Giuliani properly inform themselves before speaking.
Secondly, people are acting as if this is the first time we have seen Beyonce show support for the black community. Perhaps people have forgotten that Beyonce and Kelly Rowland founded Survivor Foundation, which was an organization that helped victims of Hurricane Katrina. We forget that Beyonce held a moment of silence for Trayvon Martin at a concert and that she and Jay-Z appeared at the “Justice for Trayvon Martin” vigil in Manhattan. We forget that she and Jay-Z have financially supported the Black Lives Matter movement and, in fact, paid bail for some jailed protestors. Beyonce did not suddenly become pro-black; she has been this way for a while. But this also does not mean that she is in any way, shape, or form anti-white.
Finally, many of those same people who will be protesting Beyonce due to her Super Bowl performance or support the protest are the same ignorant people who use the hashtag #AllLivesMatter and watch "TheBlaze." They are also the people who, like Tomi Lahren from "TheBlaze," are blissfully ignorant of what the Black Lives Matter movement is all about. This movement is to promote the idea that black lives matter, but somehow in this fight against oppression, it has been misunderstood as the idea that black lives matter more. No one said that black lives matter more than the lives of anyone else, but when you look at our society and the systems it has in place, it is clear that the status quo was developed to oppress, incarcerate, indoctrinate, and kill off the black community.
The problem is that when many members of the white community are presented with the idea that anyone else should matter at all, they feel offended. The notion that minorities matter seems unheard of, as it shatters the disgusting ideal held by many that white supremacy actually equates to racial harmony. Tomi Lahren speaks about how Beyonce and other members of the black community won’t let America "heal" and keep “ripping off the historical bandage," but it must not have occurred to Tomi Lahren that the bandage needs to be removed because the knife is still in the wound, and healing is impossible if the knife is still there. Covering up systemic racism and the obvious remnants of slavery, and pretending that minorities are free in the face of their oppressor will no longer be tolerated. All lives won’t matter until black lives matter, too.
Beyonce’s performance can be used as a stepping stone for the advancement of black issues. It may also serve as the conversation-starter needed to expel ignorance from the minds of many people, like Tomi Lahren. This performance was one of the best ways for Beyonce to use her superstar power and her platform to bring about societal change, and I for one am grateful that she did not back down.
