Beyoncé: “Formation” Is Not Anti-Police
Beyonce is out to set the record straight. Her “Formation” video features a scene where a SWAT team surrender to a black boy dancer. To perform that song at the Super Bowl, she and her back-up dancers dressed as Black Panthers. But despite what Fox News, police unions and former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani say, she is not anti-police.
“I mean, I’m an artist and I think the most powerful art is usually misunderstood,” she says to Elle. “But anyone who perceives my message as anti-police is completely mistaken. I have so much admiration and respect for officers and the families of the officers who sacrifice themselves to keeps us safe. But let’s be clear: I am against police brutality and injustice. Those are two separate things.”
In 2013, three black women launched #BlackLivesMatter. George Zimmerman had been acquitted of manslaughter for killing Trayvon Martin. While he was a neighborhood watch volunteer, the verdict drew attention to police shooting young black men. Last year, people like Trayvon and Tamir Rice were nine times more likely to be killed by police.
As a black Southern woman, Beyoncé would have been remiss not to pay attention to such incidents. She acknowledges as much to Elle. “If celebrating my roots and culture during Black History Month made anyone uncomfortable, those feelings were there long before a video and long before me,” she says. “I’m proud of what we created and I’m proud to be part of a conversation that is pushing things forward in a positive way.”
[via Beyoncé Legion]
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