On That Beyonce Video Called "Formation":

So people are going wild over Beyonce's video, and some are not enthused. I see why people are excited: They're excited because she showed people that its okay to accept themselves (complete with big nose and natural hair) regardless of respectability politics. She addressed the gossip around her and her family. She said there is nothing wrong with being from the South, and Black at the same time.  The imagery in the video got people so riled up, it was enough to cause people to want to boycott the Superbowl.

You'd probably think I'm going to tell the boycotters to GET THE FUCK OUTTA HERE With That Mess, but I'm not.  In fact, I don't think I even need to tell you why because if you've been following my blog, you already know why. Be that as it may...

I can definitely support what she's saying. But Red Lobster gets no love because they don't actually cook their food. They use microwaves to heat it up, and you could buy the biscuit mix at the grocery store (which is not the point of this discussion, so I'll stop being petty). 

BUT just because people are buzzing around her song doesn't mean they are distracted. They're just happy to see all of that Blackness for one night. Sure, the Superbowl in general is not really my cup of tea, but her performance was what people like myself wanted to see, and since I don't care for sports, I went straight for the performance, no commercials, no fluff, and I clicked the play button. 

And it was glorious! Here's why:

Who knows how  many Black women she will get to finally accept themselves all the way? She might even get women to stop getting plastic surgery in order to conform to Eurocentric beauty standards.

Plastic surgeons will see a dip in their profits, and they could quite possibly end up with zero Black customers. Black modeling agencies and photographers will pop up and will showcase Black features in all their entirety. Its only a matter of time when we see no more 'strange lighting' that almost always needs an 'explanation'.  This could be the end of Black makeup tutorials where the makeup is several shades lighter than the actual complexion of the woman. 

Black people with "Jackson 5 nostrils" will no longer feel some kind of way about having a wide nose.  How many little Black girls and boys will see the clean version of her video and will feel comfortable with their Black features, because we all have that one family member or 6 that has something crazy to say about Black features as if they never saw a mirror in their entire lives? I'm talking about:

• That one relative who claims they're light skinned when they're complexion is looking like a Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate bar. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with dark complexions, nor is there anything wrong with light complexioned Black people, or dark chocolate. I'm just calling out those fake light skin-ded folks who always have something extra to say about different Black skin tones (you know who you are).
• That one relative who tells you your baby came out light, or that your baby has 'that good hair' as if that's a badge of honor.

• That one relative who tries to give you tips or tricks to prevent that baby's nose from getting too wide, or has to help you not get 'too dark' when you're busy being a kid in the summer. 

I can't help but respect Beyonce for clapping back at people like those since they are responsible for passing down and or fostering anti-Blackness in Black families. Getting at them was long overdue, and let's face it. Those of us who have clapped back at their own family members who say stuff like that are still looked at kind of funny. Maybe its wishful thinking on my own part but if a famous person busts back at them in a different format and it reaches them then it could be possible they won't have shit else to say since somebody else is saying what you've been trying to say all along.

On the other hand, I see why people are not enthused as well. That money her and her husband earns comes from mainstream media. That's the same media that won't endorse Black artists for real. But that's okay. We learned the Oscars aren't for us, and they won't ever be. We learned the Grammy's aren't for us either, nor is any award given to people at the discretion of gatekeepers who are out of touch with the audience, or the people doing the creating (I'll give you a hint. Those gatekeepers ain't us.).

And donating to Black Lives Matter was a bad move on their part because that establishment isn't doing anything for the people in Ferguson. In fact, the last thing they did was endorse Hillary Clinton, whose husband is responsible for the same high incarceration rate Blacks are more susceptible to being on the wrong end of. That same high incarceration rate is what kept the government of Ferguson and other St. Louis municipalities shaking down the citizens. The fact that Clinton stood her arrogant ass up in a Black church in Missouri so she could tell the people "All Lives Matter" will not be swept under the rug any time soon with me.  Black Lives Matter also created "Campaign Zero" which is supposed to be a "blueprint" to hold police accountable (which had already been attempted during the unrest in several cities across America, most notably, Ferguson and Baltimore, even though it has become common knowledge that one must be able to trust the officials in power in order for accountability to take place, and it had become painfully clear that Ferguson's government is completely rotten to the core, right up through the entire state of Missouri. 

That's why I can't fault people for being mad at them for donating to DeRay and Company like that either. Yes, Jay Z and Beyonce are in the music industry, but she did use her platform for positive Blackness as well as clean up the gossip for their family. They also bailed out the kid in Baltimore who was being held for five hundred thousand dollars as well as some Ferguson protesters with no thanks to Talib Kweli after he raised $112,600 through the Ferguson Defense Fund through Indegogo even though $35,000 was donated to MORE, which left $77,600 unaccounted for. He went on to say, 

“We gave $35,000. That still leaves a lot of money. So you all know what happened with the rest of the money, we gave $3,800 to Fellowship Of Reconciliation. We’re in the process of funding several youth organizations on the ground. We’re going to vote on the rest of the funds very shortly.” 

I may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but after subtracting $3,800 from $77,600, that still leaves $73,800.  That's still a lot of money. Where did it go? Hmmm.

That being said, I don't consider  myself a longtime fan of Beyonce's music like that. I don't even own any of her albums, and I haven't listened to her music since Destiny's Child.  But she did what she was supposed to do with Formation. No mainstream Black artist has even dared to bring up what she brought up, especially on nationwide television during a time where the most people would be watching the same event. That takes some serious ovaries.

At the very least, in Beyonce's defense, you can't win for losing and vice versa.  Just ask Cam Newton. The media did him so wrong, and people still showed him love. There was no mention about Cam being a bad team player on my feed unless it was people going to bat for him. Men and women went to bat for Cam, but Beyonce was a whole different story. The women were there for her, but men... not so much. I fake wonder why that is. Anyway, that's another topic for a different time. 

She still slayed though.