Common sense sometimes just ain’t common. When my siblings and I were kids, and we did something stupid, my dad would tell us, “When God was handing out common sense, you were outside begging for a bag of rocks.” That is how I felt watching my people talk about Beyonce lighting her skin after a picture of her attending the premier of Renaissance, the movie, was shared online.
What was so ignorant about this is that not only have we seen Beyonce in person ALL SUMMER LONG during her Renaissance Tour with her majestic melanin radiating like the sun, but she also constantly releases photos on her Instagram. Do you think Beyonce found some magical fair-faced fairy dust that would change her skin color overnight? Do ya’ll even think? Use your brain! Even with all of Beyonce’s millions upon millions of dollars, there is NO PRODUCT she can purchase that will change her skin color in the blink of an eye. Ya’ll ain’t got the good sense God gave a mule. The claims were so outrageous Beyonce’s mother, Tina Knowles, made an Instagram post to address this issue.
Beyonce just said in a trailer for Renaissance that she has NOTHING to prove to anyone at this point, and she is correct!
Beyonce is the greatest living entertainer in the world. She is one of the most famous, if not the most recognizable, celebrities in the world. She has sold over 200 million records worldwide. Not to mention being a founding member of Destiny’s Child, which sold 60 million records worldwide. She is ranked by Billboard as the 37th greatest artist of all time. Her work ethic is unrivaled. She had the audacity to birth not one but two babies, then come back and destroy the stage at Coachella, being the first Black woman to ever headline the festival since its inception. She has performed not once but twice at the Superbowl. Beyonce has won 32 Grammy’s, making her the most Grammy Award-winning artist ever. She has performed with countless legends, including Tina Turner, where the big wheels keep on turning. She is the only artist who changed the world when that digital dropped and STOPPED THE WORLD! Male or female, it MAKES NO DIFFERENCE! Beyonce is still the only woman here, and she is still the realest n*gga in the room! Top two, and she ain’t number two! Her body, her ice, her cash, all real, she’s a triple threat! She can fuck it up and then leave, come back, fuck it up and leave again. Who else can do that?
Beyonce has been UNAPOLOGETIC about being a proud Black woman and celebrating all things Black! Her mother mentioned Beyonce’s song Brown Skin Girl, a lyrical celebration for Black women, particularly those with dark skin. She was clear when she said there are complexities with complexion. Beyonce wasn’t born yesterday; she understands that in this world, her skin color has given her privileges that dark skin women do not have. However, she wanted to celebrate dark skin women, saying, “Your skin is not only dark, it shines and it tells your story. Did you forget her lyrics in Formation when she said, “I like my baby heir with baby hair and afros I like my negro nose with Jackson Five nostrils”? Many of ya’ll were too busy making fun of Blue’s hair and applying growth serum to your own edges instead of understanding Beyonce was affirming her Black daughter in a world that says wearing her natural hair is offensive. Ya’ll were too busy making fun of how Jay Z looks instead of understanding that Beyonce loved her husband and all of his Black features instead of ascribing to a world that says our noses are too big. Did you forget in Black Parade, Beyonce said, “Melanin, melanin, my drip is skin deep, like Ooh, motherland, motherland, motherland, motherland drip on me. I can’t forget my history is her-story, Being black, maybe that’s the reason why they always mad, yeah, they always mad. Been past ’em, I know that’s the reason why they all big mad, and they always have been.” Or when she said, “Fuck these laid edges, I’m a let it shrivel up.Fuck this fade and waves, I’m a let it dread all up. Put your fist up in the air and show black love. Motherland drip on me, motherland, motherland drip on me.”
You can listen to song after song by Beyonce where she is celebrating her Blackness. Beyonce isn’t new to this. Beyonce is true to this! Yet still, the hater in you woke up before you even took the time to brush your teeth and thought, after all these years where Beyonce has stood up in her Blackness, she said let me bleach my skin today? If 1 plus 1 is 2 and 2 plus 2 is 4, tell me where that math makes any damn sense?
What ya’ll did was what so many people in this world do – take any opportunity you could to criticize a Black woman. You just couldn’t be satisfied allowing a Black woman to exist, let alone be flawless while doing it. It says something about you as a Black person that you wake up with the goal of tearing down another Black person. Ain’t nothing worse than a hater posing as a fan.
Let me tell you something, and this is for my people: Black women have it hard enough in this world, and it is disappointing when our people delight in being foot soldiers for the oppressor. It is sad that before Black women can even deal with the racism and hatred we face daily from others, we have to fight our own people. In 2024, make it your goal to NOT be the person Harriet would have left behind. Before you open your mouth to tear down a Black woman, ask yourself if anything you are about to say about this Black woman is going to do anything to lift her up, or is your keyboard thuggin’ going to make her an even greater target for hatred? Start there, and I can almost guarantee you nine times out of ten, you will find that you need to STFU and LEAVE BLACK WOMEN ALONE!