The United States of America has come together for 50 games of pure patriotism. Forty-nine days went down in our country's history where nothing but a simple game mattered. Where players of all colors, beliefs, and origins competed together and against one another. Forty-nine days where fans of all colors, beliefs, and origins joined in cheering for a team that they believed in. Where they all stood – hand over heart as our national anthem was sung beautifully and with pride. The game that brought all of this in a single day: The Super Bowl.
This year however, something changed; we were robbed of the escape that a good ol' football game can give us. The 111.9 million viewers were abruptly redirected to social movements, both current, and historical during the halftime performance. I'm not saying that the performances given were not pitch perfect, visually entertaining, or overall spectacular. However, I was caught off guard when Beyonce's dancers came out in a signature black leather jacket, black beret, and late 1960s hoop earrings. To some, this may have just appeared as a "you don't want to mess with us" look, but the truth is that they were representing a black activist group that was created in 1966, known as the Black Panther Party. With my love and over appreciation for Beyonce since Destiny's Child aside, I did not think this was appropriate in the slightest to be aired on the same programming that we have always, and should have still been watching with those unfortunately still prejudiced preoccupied by the sport.
For those who do not know, the Black Panther Party has been seen as a violent social party and movement that began in the late 1960s in California. Their platform was based on stopping police brutality towards African Americans in Oakland, CA, which grew to spread across the nation. But unlike other civil rights activists at the time, they were not entirely peaceful, or more so – didn't appear that way. The group wore blue shirts, black leather jackets, black berets, and many carried guns openly, exercising their 2nd amendment rights. They held free breakfasts for school children in church halls, gave out clothing, and even medical needs for those in the BPP. But this isn't seen. What is focused on is the group being defined as communists in America, a revolt of gun control, many not completely nonviolent rallies, a want for what would be a revolutionary war, and the FBI taking action on putting an end to the movement. Their goal for equality is overlooked.
While there is no doubt that social movements are needed and civil rights are a necessity for the United States of America, having dancers represent a group that may be one of the most controversially viewed black activist group should was not appropriate. I'm as much of a fan of Beyonce and football as many of us likely are. But there is a time and a place for everything. Super Bowl Sunday has been a tradition of coming together as a country for what should have been the 50th year. So why did the halftime performance try to segregate that?
