Beyonce Gets Political at the Super Bowl
Beyonce performs ‘Black Lives Matter rallying cry’ as her dancers dress as Black Panthers, pay tribute to Malcolm X and demand justice for man shot dead by cops.
Beyonce issued a strong political statement with her halftime show at Super Bowl 50 on Sunday with backing dancers dressed as members of armed civil rights group the Black Panthers.
The superstar brought the dancers on for her new single Formation which is being widely touted as a rallying cry for the Black Lives Matter movement.
At one point during the song, the supporting performers formed an ‘X’ on the field – thought to reference black rights campaigner Malcolm X – and then raised their arms in the air in a gesture referencing the black power salute by Tommie Smith and John Carlos at the Australian Olympics.
Following the show, several of the dancers were pictured giving the same salute around a piece of paper that reads ‘justice 4 Mario Woods’ – a black man shot dead by police in San Francisco last December. Afterwards Beyonce said that she ‘wanted people to have love for themselves’.
- Beyonce delivered her message during performance of new single Formation at halftime during Super Bowl 50
- Her backing dancers appeared dressed as Black Panthers activists with all-black outfits and signature black berets
- Several dancers also appeared in an image holding a piece of paper reading ‘justice 4 Martin Woods, a black man shot dead by around a dozen police in San Francisco after refusing to drop a knife
- The Black Panthers were an armed group involved in the black power movement of the Sixties and Seventies
- They followed the teachings of men such as Malcolm X, who advocated the use of violence to overcome oppression
- Tina Knowles, Beyonce’s mother, also posted an image of herself and the dancers giving the black power salute
