FOX? Rudy Guiliani? Police agencies and unions? Europeans (white) who support police? They're all upset at Beyonce for her Halftime performance during the Super Bowl yesterday and for her video for her new song "Formations." Let's say this in as clear terms as possible. I know Africans on three continents and the Caribbean and I don't know a single one who gives one rip what any of those people think about how our people choose to express ourselves. In fact, in our journey to deconstruct 500+ years of terrorism, I'm pleased to announce that I'm witnessing us getting quite good at caring as much about what people like that think about us as they care about what we think about them. People like Guiliani, FOX News, police agencies, and all their supporters have provided an impressive resume of documentation proving their contempt and lack of respect for African people. So, spar us with concern about their opinions about us.
As for Beyonce, I'm not a follower of her music per say. I'm not simply because I just prefer more of an old school approach to music and performances. I have actually seen her perform in person when I caught her act at the 2005 Essence Festival in New Orleans. She has a great voice, is an outstanding dancer, and is clearly a very creative genius, but I still listen to Chaka Khan and Denise Williams, so Beyonce, and those from her generation, are just not my preference. What's important is being able to assess Beyonce's Super Bowl performance within the context of Sekou Ture when he said culture is the sum total of people's experiences and is the method people utilize to define their legacy. So, that means that culture belongs to the masses of people. Translation; the cultural artist doesn't influence the masses of people, the masses of people influence the artist. So, Beyonce's decision to use the biggest stage in the world to display an African women only presentation of suggested militancy with respectful tributes to the Black Panther Party and Malcolm X (the woman dancing into an X formation) is a reflection of the people's desire to see these images. And make no mistake about it, there are many people who do want to see those images and this number is growing as we speak. The capitalist power structure, always on alert to subvert any efforts to wake up the struggling masses, is always going to respond adversely to any statement made that challenges their hegemony. Especially a statement made in their arena (no play on words intended). So, the voices of European anger at Beyonce's work is nothing more than the expected backlash that is present whenever African people dare make any type of statement that isn't validated and controlled by the capitalist and white supremacist power structure.
African people are clearly under no obligation to show respect to police agencies because police agencies routinely show disrespect towards us. Respect is a mutual thing. You have to give it to get it. And, we will never get respect from police because this entire system is based on the theft and exploitation of African people and the role of police is to serve as security guards for the capitalist system. So, this is the reason police behave in ways that are so consistently against African people. It's not personal. It's not about singling out this one cop from another. It's about the system's oppression of the African masses who, having this system built and maintained on our backs, represent the biggest threat to the safety and security of this system. That's why the police will always do their work - which is to make sure we are repressed. It's also why the propaganda mechanisms of the capitalist system e.g. people like Guiliani, FOX News, and the multitudes of white masses who mistakenly choose to ally themselves with the capitalist system against the African masses, will always waste no time in speaking out against any effort African people make to challenge the backwardness of this system. So, Beyonce is to be commended for her song, her performance, and for her video, but she is only doing what she should always do and what any African artist should be doing. That's using their cultural skills to inspire and advance the position of the masses of African people. When we properly understand this, we will know that this is really the purpose of having cultural artists and the fact that it is us who provide them with the resources to have material comforts is more the reason that they should be accountable to producing art that has messages that raise us up. Since artists producing positive, inspiring, and status quo challenging art is a signal that the masses are waking up, we should expect the attacks. As for us, we should reward our artists when they represent us properly by supporting that positive work meaning "Formations" is one of those songs we should support if it's message is what's being displayed in the video and during the performance. In fact, any artist that dares challenge the system with their work deserves our full support. This is the only way they will develop the capacity to continue to make uplifting work because if all you want to buy is "back that thang up" than that's all we can expect to receive from our artists. As for the hatez, this is also a good thing. The more they react, the more we know we are building capacity to win.
As for Beyonce, I'm not a follower of her music per say. I'm not simply because I just prefer more of an old school approach to music and performances. I have actually seen her perform in person when I caught her act at the 2005 Essence Festival in New Orleans. She has a great voice, is an outstanding dancer, and is clearly a very creative genius, but I still listen to Chaka Khan and Denise Williams, so Beyonce, and those from her generation, are just not my preference. What's important is being able to assess Beyonce's Super Bowl performance within the context of Sekou Ture when he said culture is the sum total of people's experiences and is the method people utilize to define their legacy. So, that means that culture belongs to the masses of people. Translation; the cultural artist doesn't influence the masses of people, the masses of people influence the artist. So, Beyonce's decision to use the biggest stage in the world to display an African women only presentation of suggested militancy with respectful tributes to the Black Panther Party and Malcolm X (the woman dancing into an X formation) is a reflection of the people's desire to see these images. And make no mistake about it, there are many people who do want to see those images and this number is growing as we speak. The capitalist power structure, always on alert to subvert any efforts to wake up the struggling masses, is always going to respond adversely to any statement made that challenges their hegemony. Especially a statement made in their arena (no play on words intended). So, the voices of European anger at Beyonce's work is nothing more than the expected backlash that is present whenever African people dare make any type of statement that isn't validated and controlled by the capitalist and white supremacist power structure.
African people are clearly under no obligation to show respect to police agencies because police agencies routinely show disrespect towards us. Respect is a mutual thing. You have to give it to get it. And, we will never get respect from police because this entire system is based on the theft and exploitation of African people and the role of police is to serve as security guards for the capitalist system. So, this is the reason police behave in ways that are so consistently against African people. It's not personal. It's not about singling out this one cop from another. It's about the system's oppression of the African masses who, having this system built and maintained on our backs, represent the biggest threat to the safety and security of this system. That's why the police will always do their work - which is to make sure we are repressed. It's also why the propaganda mechanisms of the capitalist system e.g. people like Guiliani, FOX News, and the multitudes of white masses who mistakenly choose to ally themselves with the capitalist system against the African masses, will always waste no time in speaking out against any effort African people make to challenge the backwardness of this system. So, Beyonce is to be commended for her song, her performance, and for her video, but she is only doing what she should always do and what any African artist should be doing. That's using their cultural skills to inspire and advance the position of the masses of African people. When we properly understand this, we will know that this is really the purpose of having cultural artists and the fact that it is us who provide them with the resources to have material comforts is more the reason that they should be accountable to producing art that has messages that raise us up. Since artists producing positive, inspiring, and status quo challenging art is a signal that the masses are waking up, we should expect the attacks. As for us, we should reward our artists when they represent us properly by supporting that positive work meaning "Formations" is one of those songs we should support if it's message is what's being displayed in the video and during the performance. In fact, any artist that dares challenge the system with their work deserves our full support. This is the only way they will develop the capacity to continue to make uplifting work because if all you want to buy is "back that thang up" than that's all we can expect to receive from our artists. As for the hatez, this is also a good thing. The more they react, the more we know we are building capacity to win.
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