As civil rights activist, Angela Y. Davis once said, “I’m no longer accepting the things I cannot change…I’m changing the things I cannot accept.” Music artist Beyonce is now speaking up about what she wants changed in the world.

On Sunday, February 6, Beyonce Knowles released her song, Formation which tackles many of the issues that the Black Lives Matter organization protests, most importantly police brutality against members of the black community.

But, for some reason, there was a noisy backlash against her expression of opinion. Apparently when someone points out that something unfair is happening to a minority group, and that person happens to be a popular black female artist, critics yelp when that someone states the obvious. Why?

In opening scene of the music video Beyonce is standing atop a New Orleans police car which is slowly sinking into a river. Throughout the music video Beyonce and the car sink lower and lower and at the end the car is submerged in the river and Beyonce down with the car. The message here says that if the police continue shooting people,  not only are the people going down but also the police will sink with them.

 The music video tackles a lot of police brutality. In one scene there is a wall spray painted with the words, “Stop shooting us.” This “us” is clearly the African-American population. Also, at the end of the music video we hear someone say, “Girl, I hear some thunder,” followed by what seem to be gunshots and someone say “Gollly,” indicating that people were being shot at by the police.

But the music video isn’t the only thing pointing at police brutality.  The “Formation” video was released on February 6 which was not only the day before the Superbowl but it was also the day after Trayvon Martins birthday. She clearly was trying to tackle something that she is serious about. No one should be offended by a powerful woman using her position to defend and protect members of her race and culture.

Not only were people offended by Beyonce’s music video, but people were also offended by her halftime performance at Superbowl 50. Beyonce and her background dancers were wearing Black Panther uniforms with black arm bands, afros, leather jackets, and more to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Black Panthers which was founded in Oakland, California, which is just across San Francisco Bay from where the game was being played.

But apparently people think that celebrating an organization that among other things fought for equal rights, provided breakfast for little kids, and protected their communities is wrong. That’s like saying people should not dress up and celebrate for the Fourth of July; it’s just wrong.

Another thing that some people disliked about Beyonce’s halftime performance was the fact that she formed an “X” in her performance in honor of Malcolm X, Muslim activist who demanded equal rights for the black population. Apparently this civil rights hero was so bad that people had to bash and criticize Beyonce for honoring him during her performance (the X is also formed in her music video).

One thing that Beyonce really seems to say in “Formation” is all of the things she loves about being black. As she says, “I like my baby heir with baby hair and afros. I like my negro nose with Jackson Five nostrils.” She embraces all of the traits her culture gives her. She also says, “I see it, I want it, I stunt yellow-bone it.” She’s embracing her skin color; yellow bone is a light shade of African-American skin. So go on and embrace it, girl.

And in the music video, there is a scene where a little black kid is dancing in front of the police and at the end of his dance he puts his hands up and all of the police drop their weapons and put their hands up. The little boy wears a hoodie suggesting this as an homage to Trayvon Martin. The end where the boy and the police all put their hands up symbolize that people and the police need to stop the senseless violence

There is one part in the “Formation” song where Beyonce tackles that not everything good comes from white people. As she says, “I might just be a black Bill gates in the making,” she is trying to say that not all wealthy people are white, that there are wealthy people who aren’t white and don’t get noticed. Sadly this is true in today’s world. If someone is white and rich they are known worldwide but if someone is black and rich, not many people know who they are.

This same truth  holds for people who get in trouble with the court. If someone goes and shoots up a movie theatre and they are white, they are labeled “Mentally ill” and if someone of color did the exact same thing, they are terrorists who receive the death penalty. This goes to show how messed up America is right now.

The 2016 Grammy Awards were the first time Beyonce spoke about this controversy.

She basically said that in music we have to express what we feel and that is what makes music a form of art.

Beyonce and Jay-Z have donated $1.5 million to the Black Lives Matter organization and are obviously members of the Organization.

“Justice is indivisible. You can’t decide who gets civil rights and who doesn’t.” This quote from famous civil right activist Angela Y. Davis states what Beyonce wants as well. She wants justice, and she wants everyone to have the same rights. Hopefully it all happens before she gets into formation again.