Sure, we get the shortest month of the year to celebrate Black History, but this year, in light of the Black Lives Matters movement, it seems that quite a few celebrities are getting it in!
[READ: Killer Mike, Usher, Jermaine Dupri & More Kick off Black History Monty by ‘Banking Black’!]
Now Beyonce has taken one of the nation’s largest platforms, THE SUPER BOWL, to honor Black Power by paying homage to the Black Panther Party!
Details + watch full video below…
Even before Beyonce’s performance, when images of Queen B and background dancers hit the net, many picked up on the visual reference to the Black Panther Party.
Just FYI ‘Formation’ is Beyonce’s first new solo single in 14 months and it’s certainly no coincidence that it was THIS song that she performed during the 50th anniversary of the Super Bowl.
At the end of the musical segment, which also featured Coldplay and Bruno Mars, a compilation aired showing some of the most memorable Super Bowl performances of the past.
While Janet’s image was a no-show (she’s probably still banned after that boob incident), among the montage was Michael Jackson’s show from 1993. In truth, Michael’s performance had already been marked by Beyonce being that she honored him by rocking a replica of Jackson’s Super Bowl costume.
Beyonce also acknowledged Jackson and his brothers’ mark in musical history in the official video for ‘Formation’, where she prases being Black as she sings: “I like my baby hair with baby hair and afros, I like my Negro nose with Jackson 5 nostrils.”
VIDEO: Beyonce – Formation (Official)
In what TheDailyBeast has described as “a fiery ‘Black Power’ anthem and call to arms,” Beyonce is seen in the official video for ‘Formation’ lying on top of a New Orleans police car that sinks into water, a clear reference to Hurricane Katrina, which ravaged mainly black communities in 2005.
She also addresses the ‘Black Lives Matters’ movement in a riveting scene which features a young boy in front of a line of policemen dressed in riot gear.
?Formation? is a booming meditation on black identity, the validity and transience of a person?s roots and history, and the crushing interplay between power and helplessness, agency, and victimization.
Bask in it. Dance to it. Listen to it. But, for the love of god, hear it.
And to all the people who are upset about Beyonce’s ‘sudden’ stance on ‘Black Lives Matter’ issues, she has the following response…
Just FYI, Beyonc? has quietly given at least $7 million to the homeless in her hometown of Houston since Katrina and Tidal, which she owns a share of and was launched by her husband Jay Z, just donated $1.5 million to the Black Lives Matter movement.
Love her or hate her… but you MUST respect her for standing up for her own!