CHALLENGE ACCEPTED

BY DR TUNYA GRIFFIN

Challenge accepted: Two schools of thought just stoners on the one side who said you should not attend a Beyoncé concert and you have the others that did not have stones, but they had a Beyoncé ticket

For many, last year could have been called the Year of the Black Woman. From the pathbreaking run of Kamala Harris, who rose to the highest levels of power, to the coalition of Black Women who helped organize voters to help flip Georgia into the Democrats’ column, and B Women gathering together to sing liberation songs of freedom by Beyoncé in her latest work Black Parade. A full blown protest song served as a poignant reminder to Black girls and women that almost anything is possible.

Challenging What’s Possible

As we entered in the year of 2023, the ideal of what happen in 2022 that almost anything is possible, be in check the space of 2023 where things that were possible were challengedBeyoncé is unbothered - Return to sender “There are few artists — almost all of them go by one name — whose careers are marked by the cracks they leave behind, shifting the culture with every new release in ways both subtle and enormous. There’s little doubt “Renaissance” (which Beyoncé has confirmed is the first in a “three act project”) will be seismic, which is why the Beyhive has been bracing themselves for a movement since the singer announced its release last month. In preparation for the earthquake that’s just starting to rumble, here’s a look back at a few of the singer’s groundbreaking moments.”

And there’s no better time to challenge status quo than in the month of February. Can we talk about Black Excellence on Full display in the month of February. We understand that we have like 365 days a year but there’s something about highlighting the excellence of Black people in the month of February. It is as if black excellence is on display with steroids. The contributions of many Black people across the African diaspora has helped to advance our world. This seems to center on the lines of our brilliance and ingenuity, inspiring all people around the globe to see to remember to know, and articulate clearly that Black people whether we’re wearing an Afro and bell bottoms or whether it is that we are watching soul train and eating blackeyed peas or whether we’re listening to Beyoncé on a hot Sunday morning before church services reminding us all that “Girls rule the world.”

So again for the people in the back, what better time to elevate our blackness but in the month of February, and it seems that Beyoncé never disappoints.

She’s always hits her target. For me, there’s something to be said about a women that chart their own paths, lead their own lives, and drive the curse of history while their personal private lives are on full display for others to see every inch of your life and critique what you say, how are you show up, what you wear, songs that you sing, and critique how you honor and worship the god that you serve - it’s a tough juggling act standing under the pressure of your critics who for one second would not be able to walk in your shoes, but would rather talk about you, then pray for you. It’s hypocritical at the least And hurtful, especially when the critique is coming from women who may not have walked in your shoes, but in some sense, understands how difficult the plight is for us as women, in particular black women.

Beyoncé has contributed to the culture she has contributed to women she is contribute to our blackness in ways that some may not have ever even dreamed it was possible but she shows us that it’s possible whether she is being quoted by The Clark Sisters with church girl lyrics whether it is that you see our young girls in high school and elementary school saying yes I can reach to these heights as well because I’ve seen Beyoncé and she was able to do it while taking care of her family. But what we should also know that everyone is not happy about black excellence being on display if it doesn’t fit into their little boxes however the words of Rihanna we find ways to the heartache and the pain to disappointment to shine like a diamond, and in February to shine like a diamond on steroids, and Beyonce appear to make it easy to look easy because I’m quite sure she’s reminded of the words of Danny McClurklin when you have done all you can stand! One of the most prolific artists is being challenged in the public space.

“You want to rumble with the BEE.” The false claims made by my sister with her arms out and nine days later responding with a nose ring Fosse claims that Beyoncé ticket holders were not Christians, and that Beyoncé is a witch Those who attended the Beyoncé concert started firing back, sending messages defending their position about attending the Beyoncé concert. Sam went as far to refute the claims that Beyoncé was a witch, and in fact some fired off by calling the spokesperson a fake prophet.

Challenge Accepted

Two schools of thought just stoners on the one side who said you should not attend a Beyoncé concert and you have the others that did not have stones, but they had a Beyoncé ticket

Attempt To Hijack Beyoncés Biggest Moment

Beyonce released on a 23rd of June as a day known as Juneteenth, when the United tates marks the end of slavery in June 18 65, Beyoncé, as we know, it’s a Texan, and the commendation itself is linked to the fact that slaves in Texas were only told of their freedom 2 1/2 years after the official emancipation proclamation. They carry down toiling without pay for more than two years. When Beyoncé sings I quote I’m going back to the south where my roots are.

They watered down. She’s reclaiming those Texas roots and she also adds when she sings and I quote it’s for us all black all chrome black owned. She’s defending black excellence and business and for Beyoncé black excellence is a form of protest and she wrote this on her website, and I quote announcing all proceeds from sales of this song will go to hell black on businesses, small businesses in the Villa Herb a good initiative.

what we should also noticed during the war after the death of George Floyd, that Beyoncé on Cardin, petitions and prayers, and the tradition of the murdered clergyman and civil rights leader, MLK, but when she sings, and I quote, “The need for peace and reparations for my people and faces heard, and latest headlines with she is closer to Malcolm X, the freedom fighter and the defender of black nationalism Beyoncé has taken a stance in the case of even Breonna Taylor. She’s defended the Attorney General of Louisiana against the metro police department as she uses her lyrics to convey the notion that there is justice, and nothing else.

But as I think back on the aftermath of this last week hearing one black clergy women tear down another black woman by making false claims that she, Beyoncé is a witch, and using the Bible and her title of a prophetess to give her words credibility is not congruent with what the biblical text says. In fact I would argue it is the antithesis of what we as Christian leaders are called to do.

Evelyn Higginbotham writes, women were the crucial to, but probably the public arm of the church, and made it into the most powerful institution of self-help, in the African-American community. She also added that during the years, the church served as the most effective vehicle, by which men and women alike, pushed down by racism and poverty, regrouped, and rallied against emotional and physical defeat. church women, contested races, ideology and institutions through demands for anti-lynching legislation, and it ended segregation laws. women expressed their discontent with both racial and gender discrimination, and they demanded equal rights for blacks and women advocating for voting rights and equal employment and educational opportunities.

‘The point that she argues here is that we need to rescue women from their invisibility as historical actors in the drama of black empowerment- but we must do this work together.”

She further explained black women, even drew upon the Bible, the most respected source within our communities to fight for our rights in the church, and even in society at large we stood together, and we fought together the way was made because we decided that we were better together in this fight to move us forward. Not only us individually as women, but the church collectively.

The point that she argues here is that we need to rescue women from their invisibility as historical actors in the drama of black empowerment- but we must do this work together to rescue one another with our words and actions. since women have traditionally constituted the majority of every black denomination she presents the black church not as the exclusive product of male ministry but as the product in process of male and female interaction therefore she’s offering a corrective to the exchange, between black men and women - but I also think we can use the scholar Evelyn Higginbotham words to offer a corrective with our exchanges between one another as women.

Life for us (Women) ain’t’ been no crystal stair

Our plight as women ain’t been easy

For me, there’s something to be said about a WOMEN that chart their own paths, lead their own lives, and DRIVE the curse of history while their personal private lives are on full DISPLAY for others to see.”

In an interview with Tavis Smiley, Viola Davis, and Octávio. Spencer talked about their Oscar nominations for the role of the house during the Jim Crow era, Travis said, “ I want y’all to win! He concluded, but I am ambivalent about what you’re winning!”

Davis countered that, “it is hard for black actresses to find multifaceted roles in Hollywood and up the pressure from the black community to ask you portray that you are not heroic makes it even harder that very mindset that you have and that of a lot of African-Americans is destroying the black artist. If your criticism is that you just don’t want to see the maid then I have an issue with that. Do I always have to be to Noble?

“From the black church/church to ask you to portray that you are not christian, because you are Beyoncé or that you purchased a ticket to the Beyoncé ‘s concert makes it even harder that very mindset that you have and that of a lot of church folks are destroying the very pursuit of finding God.’

Viola Davis, asked for black women, particularly those in the public eye. The answer to the question is often resounding, yes, they are required to be noble examples of what black excellence is to better to be respected, and the bounds of respectability are nearly defined by professionalism and personal ethics.” I would add here that Viola Davis is correct- if we. Interpret her words through the lens of the church then I think it will be fair to say that that viola Davis is correct, we are required to live by noble examples of respectability politics that has been established and narrowly defined by our own interpretation of what we think the Bible says, what the Bible endorses, and what the Bible prescribes-these nearly defined boxes by the church that is not endorsed by Scripture has been and is the church Achilles’ heel and i would argue, this is why we see this response in the public space about Beyoncé demonstrating or using her God-given talents and abilities is not congruent with scripture and that her gift was reduced to witch antics, because the belief is that the use of her God-given talent is outside of the respectability politics, boundaries established by the speaker rather than God. In response, the speaker decided she was given the charge by God to indict behavior that was offensive to her rather than offensive to God.

Davis is talking about respectability politics as an actress, but respectability politics also play out on the stage of church and church life.in this way, we see and interpret the biblical text through a narrow lens, and as a result our responses become a water down version of what the proper interpretation should be of the biblical text coupled with our own abusive words used to to ensure people don’t get out of line, because these behaviors do not fall within our limited categories that we have developed that has nothing to do with scripture at all.

To further the conversation viola, Davis points out about the narrowing of these categories, based on our own ideals of what it looks like and we put these categories, and what we consider respectable boxes that reflect the social mores of the majority of the culture she talked about it in ways of the patriarchal Judeo Christian way of thinking, and that these these standards mirror society. Spencer ended up, taking home later that month for the best supporting actress , but Smiley had articulated a discomfort, many of the black community felt about their big screen roles similarly to what is happening here when we see this forcefully and abusive message that is packaged in the scripture to use as the weapon of choice to articulate a discomfort Medi in the church, feel about fiancés God given talent.

The message illustrates that some church folks still filter, and distort the lives of women and their histories, and their hard work, and their ability to communicate their way of how they live out there God given talent on the stage of life, it’s still not acceptable to the stoning committee.

Healing The Wounds of Women

the plight is not easy for women, no matter what domain that we are all situated in and therefore because it’s not an easy journey, A filmmaker writes the Vanguard of black culture is still healing wounds from the past wounds that racism has created, wounds that drive you to gain acceptance in the larger culture,, - and I will add, wounds that some of our church speakers have added by the way that we interpret the biblical text out of context.

Together we are looking for validation and acceptance in the company of our sisters. You must understand our journey together as women that our journey is not easy, respectability politics to counter negative views of black women or women by aggressively adopting the manners and morality, that the dominant church culture deems respectable we should understand the respectability politics developed out of what the dominant culture deemed Respectable in the church adopted this behavior, labeling church girls, those who hold Beyoncé tickets those who attend a Beyoncé concert those who attend church and have a Beyoncé ticket those who sing the lyrics of lemonade, and Church girl are deemed and categorized and labeled as other degenerate and substandard this is the messaging that we saw on display With deep roots that are in the ideal of assimilate into the culture of what Church deems as respectable has been, and is our Achilles’ heel for us, collectively as women taking the journey together, having a human experience being Christians, in all different domains, the ideal of demonizing, one another to categorize us into these boxes, based on respectability politics, has led us down a dangerous road And that road we saw on display as we heard one of our sisters call another other sister, a witch! without any facts, without any data, and without any supporting scriptures in context, and some applauded. i argue here respectability politics in the context of the church we do not have the luxury as women taking a journey together to demean, oppress, abuse, nor bully one another, with our words, or our actions. spewing our own Jim Jones juice dripping with negative words about who we think is a Christian what we think is not a Christian - the question is who is the one to decide?

And here, emerges is our fallacy of what respectability politics, an oppressed community can deeply implicitly, endorse, flawed, language including that form the foundation of their own oppression and marginalization The fallacy of ill treatment is okay,

The ideal of spewing out abusive words is to the betterment, and the building up of the body of Christ is a false reality. Negative views of how we see one another has no place in the church, and in our pulpits, or in the company of your sisters black women carry the burden within the space of the church to uphold standards of respectability politics They should not carry such a heavy burden of exclusion. It is a dangerous narrative that must come to an end.