If you haven't seen Beyoncé's "Formation" yet, you're seriously missing out. Not only is it an absolute jam, but it carries an important message that the country really needs to listen to and accept.
The #BlackLivesMatter movement began after the acquittal of George Zimmerman, who fatally shot Trayvon Martin in 2012, though, the oppression of Black people is nothing new for the United States. There has always been controversy surrounding #BlackLivesMatter, which may be due to the misunderstanding of what the movement really means and is calling for. Historically, black bodies have been at a significantly higher risk for violence, prejudice, and discrimination than anyone else. People who try to replace #BlackLivesMatter with #AllLivesMatter may have good intentions; however, the issue is not about if all lives matter, the issue is that Black lives are treated as though they matter less. The issue is the oppression that is currently happening and has been happening since Old World Europeans started sailing around and colonizing everybody.
The reason the long history behind this is so important is because White people tend to take #BlackLivesMatter personally, when in fact they do not need to feel threatened by the possibility of Black people being treated as equals...because big surprise - Black people are equal to White people (are equal to Asian people, are equal to Hispanic people, are equal to everyone else and so on and on and on - because of human rights). So, if White people can start by not being threatened by the idea of equality, that's a good sign.
Where it gets even more tricky, is that when people get offended about the threat of being called a racist, they completely shut down. Like done. Not listening to what you have to say. We saw this after Super Bowl 50's halftime performance. Which brings us back to Beyoncé and "Formation," yes?
Beyoncé's performance during halftime was part homage to Michael Jackson, with her wardrobe, and part reference to the 50th anniversary to the founding of the Black Panthers, with her back up dancers' outfits. People were freaking out about the reference to the Black Panthers and some then compared them to the KKK... which is wildly inaccurate, but shows how easily offended White people are to the thought of being called racist.
The "Formation" video makes a lot of connections to Black culture, outside of the more well-known Black Panthers. New Orleans and Hurricane Katrina, Bounce music, plantations and slavery, Martin Luther King Jr., Voodoo culture, and #BlackLivesMatter are all pointed out in the video. Why do all of those things matter? Because Black culture is appropriated more than it is appreciated, Black bodies are shot more than they are accepted, and it's not #AllLivesMatter, it's #BlackLivesMatter.
People can talk a big game about not being racist. We all know somebody who responded to "Formation" by saying "I'm not a racist but..." and proceeded to say something that actually was racist, but since they prefaced it, apparently is wasn't? Who knows. The point being that everyone needs to watch Beyoncé's new video, and re-watch it, until they understand.
If White people are so concerned with being called racist, you might think they'd be concerned with actually being racist - but there is a huge disparity between those two things. When people can open their minds to the possibility that they might be part of the problem through their indifference or even misplaced offense, that's when White privilege can be used as a successful platform to call for justice.
"Formation" and Beyoncé are just calling attention to a bigger issue than whether or not Blue Ivy looks how you expected her to; it's about more than dancing and an amazing song. There is a conversation to be had about the vast disproportion of Black men in jail for crimes that all races are committing, how Black children are treated like adults criminally and socially before it would be "acceptable" for White kids to be treated that way, about how Trans* women of color are killed and attacked significantly more than anyone else in the LGBTQIA+ community.
#BlackLivesMatter is just being called to the spotlight by celebrities of color, and it's about time the country learns from icons like Beyoncé and Jay Z. "Formation" is just a moment within this movement, but it's a powerful one. Let's pay attention, shall we?
