I have to admit, when I heard Formation the first time in my car, I was a little annoyed, thinking that it was just another song with no meaning. Fortunately for me, (unfortunately for others), the radio on two stations would not stopping playing the song, so then I reluctantly watched the music video.

Before I get into how I feel about the song I would first like to say that I am not a Beyonce fan. I'm not a part of the Bey-hive and I don't listen to a lot of her music. Now, that I can't be accused of being a crazed Beyonce fan I would like to say that I really enjoy this song. It's been awhile since black singers have taken a stand and used their voices to speak out about the frustrations that our community has been feeling for so long.

First, let me show some of the lyrics that stood out to me, "I like my baby heir with baby hair and afros", a hairstyle that a lot of African American women wear and a style Blue Ivy, Beyonce's daughter, is constantly being criticized for.

"I like my negro nose with Jackson Five nostrils". One physical characteristic a lot of black people are often made fun of for is having a large nose, Beyonce instead embraces a quality that some see as a flaw.

One lyric that I didn't agree with was, "You just might be a black Bill Gates in the making". When a black person is succeeding the person is often compared to a white person and called the black version of that person. By telling people that they could be a black Bill it can be inferred that that person will never be as good as Bill Gates because he is the original. Why not be better than Bill Gates? Why not make Bill Gates the white you?

While the song on its own is an extraordinary pro-black song, the music video and Super Bowl performance added to the meaning and outraged a lot of people. Beyonce dressed in a Michael Jackson inspired costume while her dancers, all black women, clad in Black Panthers attire and afros, made a huge statement. A lot of people were outraged by Beyonce's dancers dressing like Black Panthers, forgetting that the Black Panthers were created to protect black people from groups like the KKK who were trying to kill them and harm their people. This was a time where communities that were home to black people were being burned and black people were getting murdered for no other reason than for the color of their skin.

The music video also caused a huge uproar because the video portrayed a young boy dancing in front of a line of white police officers, then showed the police officers surrendering to him. There was a graffiti image that read "Stop shooting us," and Beyonce was seen on top of a sinking police vehicle. Beyonce often times remains silent about cultural issues, but this video spoke volume.

Formation is a call for unity. She's calling for women to get in formation, supporting black men and our community during a time of inequality and hardship. I think it's also time for black men to get in formation and support the women of our community just like they support them. All aspects of the media needs to change from the music being created for television, books, and magazines. The only known black woman treated poorly by the police shouldn't be Sandra Bland because there are countless others. We need to unite and try to fix the problems that could ultimately end our community.