Everyone has an opinion on Beyoncé. Whether someone loves her or hates her, there's an opinion. Beyoncé is one of the highest grossing female artists ever. She was the first female artist to win six Grammys in one night and also have six consecutive albums debut at number one on the charts and there’s a damn reason for it. Recently, Queen Bey has been using her music and her wealth to take more political stances on issues of race in America.
On that note, we’ll move on to Beyoncé’s most recent work of genius, "Lemonade." With the release of "Lemonade," there has been an immediate rise in white people coming to the defense of themselves for absolutely no reason. As Iggy Azalea, known racist and village idiot, said on Twitter, “You would not be down if I started calling all black men ‘Deshawns'" in response to Bey’s lyric, “Go call Becky with the good hair.” Alright, Iggy -- let’s just put this out there before we keep going, being called “Becky” as a generalization to white women does not, in any way, put you at a disadvantage for being white. When a white person rolls around calling every black man she sees “Deshawn,” it falls into a centuries-long stereotype of black people “looking the same” and having names that are “too hard to say” for white people. White people have the privilege of being recognized as the norm whereas black people and other minorities are not.
On the other side, we have Beyoncé Super Bowl performance earlier this year where she and her dancers were dressed as modern Black Panthers and were called terrorists for their efforts. Most white people don’t even realize that the Black Panthers were a group of freedom fighters trying keep racist murderer cops out of their neighborhoods but the CIA, who are historically racist, painted them as a terrorist organization. Yet the KKK has never been branded a terrorist organization because of freedom of speech…a’ight. But this is all enough for a whole other article, back to Beyoncé.
If you are a white person who is trying to comment on "Lemonade"… just don’t. "Lemonade" is not just a way for Beyoncé to tell the world about the biggest mistake of Jay Z’s life, which was boss as hell, but it is a love letter to all black women in America. The story of "Lemonade" is one that is perpetuated against black women constantly, and now there is a platform to point it out on a global scale. As Malcolm X said, “one of the most disrespected people in America is the black woman.” It is for this reason that, as a white person, you should check your privilege and take a step back. I can hear it now though, “Why can’t I talk about "Lemonade"? It’s just my opinion! It’s not like I owned slaves! I like black people -- some of my best friends are black!” OK, Becky, let’s talk about white privilege and white guilt.
White privilege is the privilege white people get to be seen as the norm and standard of society due to systematic oppression of the majority on minority races. White guilt is useless because it takes the problem out of the framework of accepting your privilege and moving on and instead focusing on how bad you feel for being white. This isn’t about you, just like "Lemonade" isn’t about you. It is a story of solidarity between black women so that they know they are not alone. White people can’t make a judgment on Beyoncé’s artistic choices on the black experience and say she could’ve done better or she should have made it more accessible to white people because it is not meant for you. If you want something that is accessible to you, listen any other album ever.
Now, I’m not saying you aren’t allowed to listen to "Lemonade" and have an opinion on whether you liked or disliked the sound of the music, but you can’t pass judgment on the execution of music meant for black women, it’s not your place. Enjoy "Lemonade" and watch it with a mind on history and your place in it, but don’t make it about you. #QueenBey
