KENDRICK LAMAR PRAISED AND BEYONCE PROTESTED? WHITES CAN'T HAVE IT BOTH WAYS
buzzz worthy. . .
By Mona Austin
Fairness and equality for all means Whites can't tell Blacks how to express their pride or hurt.
Black History Month 2016 was uncomfortable for me. On all fronts the "celebration" of Blackness was challenged. The racist fear and rejection of Blackness was on display all month long. From actress Stacy Dash saying the month was not necessary to #oscarssowhite dissing Black talent to Beyonce being demonized in the media for embracing Black pride, crushing Black progress for sport was a disconcerting norm. Of all of the narratives that gave pause to the need for a racism awakening, it was the responses to the performances of Kendrick Lamar and Beyonce that caught my attention the most.
How is it possible that both Beyonce and Kendrick Lamar artistically took a political stand for social justice for Blacks on national television and Lamar's work was praised and Beyonce's was protested?
Beyonce's Superbowl 50 performance in homage to the Black Panther Party's 50th anniversary, the follow-up to her "Formation," video was shrouded in controversy, the subject of international uproar. Protests were organized, leaders in international governments sought the investigation of the artist and the#boycottbeyonce hashtag was generated.
Paying tribute to the Black Nationalist group and #blacklivesmatter was deemed racist by some police unions and Whites in media. A Tennessee cop went so far as to accuse the Platinum-selling singer of inciting cop shootings. Beyonce and a crew of women wore Black Panther inspired outfits and raised their fists in the air in solidarity, symbolizing Black power. That was enough to make police feel threatened.
In Lamar's presentation he walked around in chains with flames spurting in the background rapping about modern day slavery. From the White House to his peers, the LA-based rapper's performance was lauded. It was a fierce statement about the need to release the shackles off Black existence.
I expected similar backlash from Lamar's Grammy night performance. In fact, I waited for it. Three days passed. *crickets*
Words like "defiant' were used to describe Beyonce's performance while one writer used the word "transcendent" to describe Lamar's.
Both artists' performances were political statements. Both challenged systematic racism, but Lamar's message was more palatable to the masses than the other. Check the imagery. Somehow White America is more comfortable seeing Blacks chained, expressing the need for fairness and equality than an unbound Black woman fully standing in her liberation.
By Mona Austin
Fairness and equality for all means Whites can't tell Blacks how to express their pride or hurt.
Black History Month 2016 was uncomfortable for me. On all fronts the "celebration" of Blackness was challenged. The racist fear and rejection of Blackness was on display all month long. From actress Stacy Dash saying the month was not necessary to #oscarssowhite dissing Black talent to Beyonce being demonized in the media for embracing Black pride, crushing Black progress for sport was a disconcerting norm. Of all of the narratives that gave pause to the need for a racism awakening, it was the responses to the performances of Kendrick Lamar and Beyonce that caught my attention the most.
How is it possible that both Beyonce and Kendrick Lamar artistically took a political stand for social justice for Blacks on national television and Lamar's work was praised and Beyonce's was protested?
Beyonce's Superbowl 50 performance in homage to the Black Panther Party's 50th anniversary, the follow-up to her "Formation," video was shrouded in controversy, the subject of international uproar. Protests were organized, leaders in international governments sought the investigation of the artist and the#boycottbeyonce hashtag was generated.
Paying tribute to the Black Nationalist group and #blacklivesmatter was deemed racist by some police unions and Whites in media. A Tennessee cop went so far as to accuse the Platinum-selling singer of inciting cop shootings. Beyonce and a crew of women wore Black Panther inspired outfits and raised their fists in the air in solidarity, symbolizing Black power. That was enough to make police feel threatened.
In Lamar's presentation he walked around in chains with flames spurting in the background rapping about modern day slavery. From the White House to his peers, the LA-based rapper's performance was lauded. It was a fierce statement about the need to release the shackles off Black existence.
I expected similar backlash from Lamar's Grammy night performance. In fact, I waited for it. Three days passed. *crickets*
Words like "defiant' were used to describe Beyonce's performance while one writer used the word "transcendent" to describe Lamar's.
Both artists' performances were political statements. Both challenged systematic racism, but Lamar's message was more palatable to the masses than the other. Check the imagery. Somehow White America is more comfortable seeing Blacks chained, expressing the need for fairness and equality than an unbound Black woman fully standing in her liberation.
In order to close the chasm of cross racial understanding, it is important that Black art is not a distraction for Whites and they must grasp the heart of the pain and oppression Blacks seek to obliterate. In the case of Lamar and Beyonce, while their performances were conceptually different, both were unapologetically Black, aiming for the same respect and acceptance of their race and culture.To love one method and loath the other is at the heart of the systematic ideology of White dominance -- which essentially boils down to Whites expressing preference, approval or authority over how Blacks choose to combat oppression. We can't begin to have meaningful conversation about racial reconciliation if the oppressor (racist Whites) set the parameters of the discussion for the oppressed (Blacks/other).
