Beyoncé Didn't Come to Dinner



She had courage. That's what a Black Panther stated regarding the celebrity's acclaimed Super Bowl 50 Half-Time performance. The Panther credited Beyoncé for exposing generations of unaware people to the impact the Black Panthers had.

If you are like me and watched the Half Time Show unaware of Beyoncé's message (and wishing a more substantial show was on stage), I will explain. It was more than the singer in tight-fitting leather waving her arms and booty around the stage.  The song she sang was from a video where she was draped on top of a police car. The "X"'s on the costumes where a homage to Malcom X.

The Panthers were a socialist organization that existed between 1966 - 1982. Their 50 year anniversary coincided with Super Bowl 50. This militant group advocated self-defense of minority groups against the government and was birthed in nearby Oakland. One of the founders killed a police officer and due to Panther outcry, managed to be released from prison.

This is what Beyoncé was enlightening us about while she strutted and wiggled her way on that San Francisco stage just 12 miles away.

Instead of being entertained, we were had. The nation's favorite annual football game was used to send an angry political message. Did you know that Beyonce''s husband donated $1.5 million to Black Lives Matter? In addition to entertaining, these people feel compelled to let the world know their opinions with a fist thrust into the air. We're not talking about revealing your love for gardening or cooking. We're talking about highly controversial matters upon which there will be
polarizing reactions.

I am offended that someone took advantage of her position and paraded around in the name of anti-government. That is a an arrogant act of ignorance. If the woman only knew what was behind these movements would she really offer to be their hood ornament?

Be careful what you endorse. Be very, very careful and do your research somberly. On February 7, 2016 a new word was born into our Wikipedia Dictionaries: Beyonce'd. Verb. To demonstrate foolishness and ignorance while believing you have superior knowledge purely because of race.

We recently watched the classic film Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? (1967). Set in San Francisco just one year after the Black Panther movement was born, this is a story about a wealthy white family whose only daughter (Katherine Houghton) fell in love with a black Doctor (Sidney Poitier). Both sets of parents were concerned about their couplehood being accepted in society at that time. After hours of anguished conversations, all but one parent had offered their support. The only one who couldn't accept them was Poitiers' father (Roy Glenn).

Poitier finally made his case when he said to his father, "You see yourself as black man."

"I see myself as a man."

And forty-nine years later, Beyoncé  represented how far our culture has not come.

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