So if you haven’t seen it yet, this is the “controversial” new video from Beyonce for Formation. Watch it and judge for yourself.

The following views are my opinions and my opinions only. Also, I drop the f-bomb once or twice. 

I thought long and hard about whether or not I wanted to even address this issue because I would hate to alienate any of my readers or attract negative people to my blog when I try so hard to keep this space a positive place. But, even as a professional, I find that I am unable to escape the blow-back of the latest Beyonce bomb and since I am going to get debris in my locs anyway I might as well have my say.

If you didn’t know by now, I am black. Specifically Afro-Carribean, but that’s another topic. And so when topics like state sponsored violence against black and brown bodies come up they hit me at home. What I see reflected on television is often the very real fear I live with every day. I often find myself critiquing the representation of black and brown bodies on television and in movies instead of just enjoying the damn show. I often have to remind my educated and well-meaning friends that ALL LIVES cannot matter until we can comfortably say BLACK LIVES matter without it being seen as subversive.

So, being anti-police brutality is not the same as being anti-police. Being pro-black  or even pro-queer is not the same as being anti-white or anti-hetero. Loving myself and my history and embracing people and movements that some people may find unsettling is not race baiting, reverse racism (is that even a thing?), or being anti-white. There are some people in this country who love Former Presidents Jefferson, Jackson, and Washington and their vision of America was troublesome as fuck, to say the least. And yet I don’t see anybody rushing to take their faces off of the money.

So, Beyonce, in a media blitz to end all blitzes, released Formation out of nowhere the day before the Superbowl, then showed up and showed out at the half-time show (seriously I don’t know who played or who won but I surely tuned in for that show), and then released her new tour schedule. She paid homage to the Black Panther Party on their 50th Anniversary and told us all that she wanted to do something that we could be proud of.

Well, I was proud.

And I am not a Bey-hive member by any means. I thought her little romp into cultural appropriation with Coldplay was a bit out of line, but not fatal.  See that HERE and you will get what I mean. She looked stunning but this was not the time to play dress up.

When the backlash against Formation came out I was honestly shocked. What show were these people watching? I saw a celebration of the women who I admire and respect. I saw a global icon directly addressing a very distressing reality. I saw pride. I saw hope. I saw big booty, brown skin girls with kinky hair unapologetically being themselves. Where is the hate in that? ( I also saw Beyonce almost fall but that is another story.)

In a place and time that is so heavily driven by identity politics, I have to question the identity of people who were so outraged by the imagery of a little black boy in a hoodie overcoming police brutality with the power of dance.

My personal identity isn’t built on my assumed superiority to anybody else. Therefore, seeing other people of color celebrate their heritage doesn’t offend me. Seeing them express the grievances present in their communities through art and pop culture doesn’t offend me. I don’t need to see others as less than myself to be proud of who I am. Nor do I have to give up the parts of my history or culture that may be upsetting to others in order to get along. It is not my job to make YOU comfortable. I am under no obligation to embrace a version of history that waters down the truth or obliterates the nuances of who we have been as people.

The Black Panther Party was subversive, and rightfully so. But, that was not all that they were. Police violence against black and brown and queer bodies is REAL, but that is not ALL that there is to the story.

And Beyonce did what few artists will ever do, and perhaps what ONLY she COULD do.  She called us all to the table and used her own body to spark a conversation.

I am going to leave this with Tre Melvin who answered  Formation haters is about as well as anyone could. Please watch, like and share. If you take nothing else away from this post, remember that love always wins but not without a fight. Let’s get in formation.