At the Super Bowl this past Sunday, Beyonce performed her new single “Formation”. The song is very politically charged and is meant to send a message. The video for the song was also released. It had many themes and displayed things such as police brutality and symbolization of powerful, African American leaders.
When watching the video, a viewer can find Beyonce on top of a New Orleans police car sinking, expressing the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina that effected many black communities. During her performance at the Super Bowl, her backup dancers wore hats that mimicked the ones that the Black Panthers wore in the 60s. They also formed an ‘X’, representing Malcolm X, the civil rights leader. When entering the field, Beyonce had her dancers hold a sign that said, “Justice for Mario Woods”, a young, black man who was shot by San Francisco police.
While Beyonce’s performance received much attention for the message it was sending, does this make her an activist? There have been many Twitter posts claiming that Beyonce is pro-black and an activist because of this new song. Beyonce’s image in the media is very strong, but people are seeming to push her intentions. There are many musicians that have released songs about black people and the injustice that they have recieved from the government and police, but that does not mean that they are newfound rights leaders.
There are many women who push and fight for the justice of African Americans everyday, but they will never receive the attention or recognition that Beyonce has recieved for one song. It shows that the level of status that a woman has is important when it comes to getting a message out. People know that police brutality is a problem, but not many people try to do anything about it. Beyonce makes a song about it, and it is now circling the media and everyone is in uproar praising her. Why should Beyonce be labeled an activist for releasing a song about issues that black people deal with daily when there are real women who are actually activist who cannot get noticed?
Rowdy, Uppity & Sometimes Well-Behaved 
I wasn’t a big Beyoncé fan and then she came out with this is song. Formation not only spoke out for African-Americans but it showed women empowerment too. In a way, she is an activist because she was making a statement through song. Through speech or through song, she still made a statement it doesn’t matter how she did it.
J. Hannah- I wasn’t a big Beyoncé fan and then she came out with this is song. Formation not only spoke out for African-Americans but it showed women empowerment too. In a way, she is an activist because she was making a statement through song. Through speech or through song, she still made a statement it doesn’t matter how she did it.