Unless you've been living under a rock, you've probably heard talk of Beyonce's new album, "Lemonade," that was recently added onto Tidal (fingers crossed that it'll be available on Spotify, Android and Apple Music soon!). After seeing the visual album on HBO, I thought that "Lemonade" was absolutely amazing and it really hit home for women of color. With that in mind, why are people so absolutely angry over just that? I am not saying that white women are not allowed to jam out to "Lemonade" and connect to the lyrics about someone that you dearly loved stomping your heart in the mud, but...the connection of this moving album is for women of color.
Here are some examples: First off, the snippet of Malcolm X speaking, saying, "The most disrespected person in America is the black woman. The most unprotected person in America is the black woman. The most neglected person in America is the black woman." It is beyond true. I can't tell you how many statuses and tweets I've seen from non-people of color saying, "I've been disrespected, too! Not just black women!" Stop it. It's not a competition and it never was. Do you think that we want to be disrespected, unprotected, neglected? No. It's a vicious cycle that no matter how much good we do, we're always the enemy.
And let's not forget the moving scene with the mothers holding up pictures of their sons who lost their lives to police brutality. Trust and believe me when I say that this album was generated to empower and raise up black women. Why is that such a problem?
Now, if you're a white ally, please understand that not everything has to be about you. Us people of color deserve our 24 hours in the limelight as well. Stop raising your voice over us and making it hard to really enjoy something like this. We've been (im)patiently waiting two years for this album. Don't take that away from us. If you're a true ally and you believe in respect and hope for us as a nation, raise your voice at the same level as us and help with this ongoing battle. That's what we need. Not for people to complain about how they "have hot sauce in their bag, too." Do better, guys.
