7 times beyoncé highlights black activism and beauty in 'formation'

7 times Beyoncé highlights black activism and beauty in 'Formation'

Beyoncé is "back by popular demand" — and she's bringing a powerful message with her.

Queen Bey dropped her new music video for "Formation" on Saturday, and the Internet erupted with pride and excitement as one of the world's most influential black celebrities used her platform to showcase both beauty and struggles within the black community.

Directed by Melina Matsoukas, who is also responsible for the Grammy Award-winning video for "Pretty Hurts," the visuals for "Formation" challenge social norms, highlight activism and force viewers to think about the black experience in a new way.

Formation (Dirty)

The entire video is a masterpiece, but here are seven especially powerful, unapologetic messages of activism and racial justice BeyoncĂŠ serves up in "Formation."

1. The young black boy wearing a hoodie

In one of the most powerful images from "Formation," a young black boy wearing a hooded sweatshirt confronts a line of white police officers in riot gear, reminiscent of Black Lives Matter protests. Flipping the dynamic between police and black bodies on its head, the young boy exerts power and the officers are the ones who raise their hands up.

Regardless of how you might interpret it, this image puts black youth in a position of power — one they're typically deprived of in America.

2. Drowning on top of a New Orleans police car The entire "Formation" video is set in New Orleans, Louisiana, where Beyoncé’s mother grew up and where her sister, Solange, currently lives. Beyoncé uses this location to highlight the mistreatment of the black community in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.

She begins the video by standing on top of a police car surrounded by water, and ends it by metaphorically drowning in the post-Katrina floods — as many black

people did. More than 10 years later, many within the community are still recovering from the natural disaster, worsened by economic and racial injustice.

3. "I like my baby hair with baby hair and afros" Black hair is highly politicized and highly criticized.

Historically, black women have conformed to Eurocentric beauty standards, chemically altering their hair to be straight. So when Beyoncé’s daughter, Blue Ivy, was photographed with her natural hair in 2013, the media had a lot of negative things to say.

Beyoncé shuts all of that down in the "Formation" video — Blue Ivy standing proudly with her afro among other black girls sends a clear message that naturally curly and kinky hair is beautiful.

4. "I like my Negro nose with Jackson 5 nostrils" This line continues Beyoncé's message of pride in African-American features. A common African

phenotype is a wide nose with large nostrils — similar to that of Beyoncé's husband, Jay Z — and Beyoncé herself has even been rumored to have gotten nose surgery by disreputable sources for years.

But yet again, she fearlessly shuts down critiques of black features in "Formation."

5. Local New Orleans culture Since the video is set in New Orleans, Beyoncé showcases the local culture, including Mardi Gras and second lines.

In this shot, Beyoncé wears a blond afro surrounded by people dressed in vibrant Mardi Gras Indian costumes.

Although simple, this image conveys her pride in her black and Creole roots. In a time when black culture is constantly appropriated and simultaneously ignored, Beyoncé puts it front and center.

6. "More Than a Dreamer" With the release of "Formation" soon after Martin Luther King Jr. Day and the start of Black History

Month, Matsoukas and Beyoncé highlight King’s ongoing legacy with this frame of his face on the cover of a newspaper called The Truth. King is often reduced to his "I Have a Dream" speech, but this moment in the video reminds us that he was much “more than a dreamer.”

Although not always vocal about activism, Beyoncé (who performed a tribute to King at the 2015 Grammys) often shows that she's informed, and honors those who paved the way in the fight for racial justice.

7. "Stop shooting us" If Matsoukas and Beyoncé hadn’t gotten the point across in any other imagery, they make the clearest statement here about the condition of black lives in America: Stop shooting us. Blatant and unapologetic, this image brings the political and personal to pop culture and entertainment.

Beyoncé uses "Formation" to remind listeners and viewers that although she's a wealthy entertainer, she's still very much aware of the struggles faced by people

who look just like her. While not the first, this is perhaps the most public, defiant example of what she and Jay Z have done to advocate for and support the black community.

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