On Formation: Beyoncé's Black (Popular) Resistance
I've always been and will always remain skeptical of popular culture - but to deny the power it has over many would be foolish. I've seen what effect a Destiny's Child or later, Beyoncé song has had on the dance floor, even if the lyrics mostly would make me cringe. At 43, I don't have much time for pop culture but sometimes, something really big happens, and deserves my gaze, my time and my words.
Such is the case with Beyoncé's Formation. Well, to be honest, I was going to write something about all the fuss over her so-called cultural appropriation in Coldplay's Hymn for the Weekend, but then like so many other ideas I get, I was like Meh, why bother? I know I'm going to get a lot of heat for this, but I really don't think an African American can be accused of cultural appropriation. When I think about race and India, and the general gaze that India seems to have of Africa coupled with ideas of power, well, it just doesn't cut it. I mean this in the most gentle of ways and as someone with East Indian background who frankly, have never been made to feel a part of Indian culture in the way Blacks have made me feel, the charges don't stick. Yes, I see it in terms of Coldplay being British, coupled with it's history with India. But seeing a Black woman dressed in traditional East Indian gear? That's okay to me. Don't mean I'm a Beyoncé fan, don't mean I even like the song. Don't mean I don't get why the video is offensive on so many other levels. But like someone else mentioned India's got 99 problems, but Bey's not one.
Like so many others, I have a special place for New Orleans in my heart. One of my first instances of Southern racism occurred there, an experience I'm thankful for. It involved a young man refusing to enter his parents' house because I was there. This was pre-Katrina. I also returned in 2011 and was devastated by what I saw. Yes, it experienced a re-development, but the Black community was gutted. When I recently met Gerald French here in Copenhagen - bandleader to the oldest Jazz group in the world and New Orleans native, we both spoke about the displacement caused by Katrina. It is the largest African American displacement in the U.S. ever. where 10s of thousands of mostly African Americans had to flee, most never being able to return. Seemingly reserved for inaccessible academic papers is the consequences of this, of displacement, of being a refugee in your own country. Fact is, if you are Black in America or in touch with Black America, you would know that we have been in a state of emergency for some time. With family members incarcerated, state-authorized lynchings, many of us have been experiencing a sadness, a frustration, a reality that is the flip-side to having a Brown face filling the seat of Presidency. And in all this - those of us who are in power seem to tread carefully - for to be in power in this current infrastructure most likely means you cannot questions this. Too much.
Formation • a formal arrangement of aircraft in flight or troops: a battle formation | the helicopters hovered overhead in formation.
And where in the past I would have cringed at the allusion to whore houses and Black women, I'm at a point where I'm like, why is Black sexuality so threatening, so powerful anyway? Shit, she right to be flaunting it and owning it. For over 300 years, and arguably more, we didn't.
New Orleans is also that spot where the Black Americas meet. No matter where you from in the diaspora, New Orleans will whisper in your ear like a familiar family member. Be it the cuisine, the music, the French influence, the carnival - Mardi Gras - New Orleans is Black despite this measured attempt at erasure. And those of you who follow my writing know that my favorite mantra, the one I coined years ago is, "The Image is Mightier than the Sword". We live in a time of imagery. It's messages, worth a thousand words, moves at least as fast as the speed of light. And if it's one thing that Beyoncé has done for Black folk who are feeling the heel of that boot - is remind us of our power: that power to survive, that power to create and that power to resist. Whether she intentionally did this or not. We are who we are. And in case you've forgotten, this is the battle cry to stand in formation. And shout out to the hot sauce. Although knowing what I know about Bill Gates and his relationship to population control, I wouldn't necessarily shout out his name. Just saying.
Such is the case with Beyoncé's Formation. Well, to be honest, I was going to write something about all the fuss over her so-called cultural appropriation in Coldplay's Hymn for the Weekend, but then like so many other ideas I get, I was like Meh, why bother? I know I'm going to get a lot of heat for this, but I really don't think an African American can be accused of cultural appropriation. When I think about race and India, and the general gaze that India seems to have of Africa coupled with ideas of power, well, it just doesn't cut it. I mean this in the most gentle of ways and as someone with East Indian background who frankly, have never been made to feel a part of Indian culture in the way Blacks have made me feel, the charges don't stick. Yes, I see it in terms of Coldplay being British, coupled with it's history with India. But seeing a Black woman dressed in traditional East Indian gear? That's okay to me. Don't mean I'm a Beyoncé fan, don't mean I even like the song. Don't mean I don't get why the video is offensive on so many other levels. But like someone else mentioned India's got 99 problems, but Bey's not one.
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| my friend, the actor Mark Valley on our visit to the 9th Ward , 2011 |
Like so many others, I have a special place for New Orleans in my heart. One of my first instances of Southern racism occurred there, an experience I'm thankful for. It involved a young man refusing to enter his parents' house because I was there. This was pre-Katrina. I also returned in 2011 and was devastated by what I saw. Yes, it experienced a re-development, but the Black community was gutted. When I recently met Gerald French here in Copenhagen - bandleader to the oldest Jazz group in the world and New Orleans native, we both spoke about the displacement caused by Katrina. It is the largest African American displacement in the U.S. ever. where 10s of thousands of mostly African Americans had to flee, most never being able to return. Seemingly reserved for inaccessible academic papers is the consequences of this, of displacement, of being a refugee in your own country. Fact is, if you are Black in America or in touch with Black America, you would know that we have been in a state of emergency for some time. With family members incarcerated, state-authorized lynchings, many of us have been experiencing a sadness, a frustration, a reality that is the flip-side to having a Brown face filling the seat of Presidency. And in all this - those of us who are in power seem to tread carefully - for to be in power in this current infrastructure most likely means you cannot questions this. Too much.
Formation • a formal arrangement of aircraft in flight or troops: a battle formation | the helicopters hovered overhead in formation.
And where in the past I would have cringed at the allusion to whore houses and Black women, I'm at a point where I'm like, why is Black sexuality so threatening, so powerful anyway? Shit, she right to be flaunting it and owning it. For over 300 years, and arguably more, we didn't.
New Orleans is also that spot where the Black Americas meet. No matter where you from in the diaspora, New Orleans will whisper in your ear like a familiar family member. Be it the cuisine, the music, the French influence, the carnival - Mardi Gras - New Orleans is Black despite this measured attempt at erasure. And those of you who follow my writing know that my favorite mantra, the one I coined years ago is, "The Image is Mightier than the Sword". We live in a time of imagery. It's messages, worth a thousand words, moves at least as fast as the speed of light. And if it's one thing that Beyoncé has done for Black folk who are feeling the heel of that boot - is remind us of our power: that power to survive, that power to create and that power to resist. Whether she intentionally did this or not. We are who we are. And in case you've forgotten, this is the battle cry to stand in formation. And shout out to the hot sauce. Although knowing what I know about Bill Gates and his relationship to population control, I wouldn't necessarily shout out his name. Just saying.
