Yes, this post will be about Beyoncé’s break into country music and it is not easy for me to write, because on one hand I wrestle with Beyoncé’s music, because she literally stands for almost everything that opposes my faith and perspectives on honoring the regality of Black women (we are more than a sex symbol folks…that ended in 1865 when we were freed from being the master’s mistress and breeder). On the other hand, the response to her break into country music has brought about a racist response that I feel compelled to speak on. These responses are not rooted in some type of noble or religious effort. It’s not because the content of Beyoncé’s music is not clean enough for country music, because most of country music is not about “Jesus Taking the Wheel” (in fact some songs have racist connotations). To unpack what I am trying to convey, let me give some historic background on why the response to her entrance into country music reveals how Jim Crow still lives.
When Abraham Lincoln was assassinated and Andrew Johnson became president, he ushered in an era that we still suffer from today. Freed people had hopes that through Reconstruction they would be treated equally and even hoped that they would be given 40 acres and a mule as reparations for the pain American slavery caused them. When Lincoln died, Johnson quickly began to erase any effort Lincoln had for Black people’s inclusion into American life and culture. Because Lincoln himself was cursed with a “touch” of White Supremacy, his plan for Reconstruction was very weak. He tried. He was brave enough to begin the process of evolving from the man who said “If I could save the Union without freeing the slaves I would.” to his second inaugural address, where he laid out his plan for Reconstruction and openly acknowledged America’s sin of enslaving people, even going so far as to say that God has judged America. He was murdered before he got to finish evolving. He started a process to bringing everyone into the Union, but everyone was still so wounded. How can someone so scarred by America’s racist past heal our troubled land? With Lincoln out of the way, Andrew Johnson took the land from freed people and returned it to the former slave owners, creating an American culture where Blacks would continue to suffer oppression and inequality. Johnson’s short time in office drew a line in stone that would forever separate us from one another.
It always makes me cringe when I hear people say, “Racism is in the past. We have to just forgive and move on.” I cringe because racism, Jim Crow, and inequity still exist. If we do not acknowledge it, how can we heal??? It still lives, because it is still in all of our hearts. We will never heal what Andrew Johnson and others carved in the very cornerstone of America until we heal our hearts. One main way that we can still see the effects of Jim Crow is in American music. Take a moment to reflect on what I am saying, instead of lying to yourself that people just have different genres of music that they like (I say that in love!). For example, there is Contemporary Christian music and Gospel music. In the DC/MD/VA area we have one main gospel station that mainly plays Black Christian music and one main Contemporary station that mainly plays music by mostly White artists. One time I emailed the Contemporary station and asked why they don’t play more Black artists, and they responded that they try to focus on a specific genre. I then listed several Black artists that are not really gospel. Their style of music is Contemporary. In fact, some contemporary artists sing some of the same songs. Now this station has gotten a little better, by playing CeCe Winans, Tauryn Wells, etc. BUT they will only play Christian hip hop for example IF the rap is within a White artist’s song (i.e. when KB raps in a song boy Mercy Me). They will play Kirk Franklin IF he is partnered with a group like For King and Country. To me, all of the music is christian and as long as the music connects to Christian theology, there should not be this divide. I have the same concerns with the gospel station, who also often resists playing White artists, even though for example artists like Toby Mac or Natalie Grant create songs that sometimes could fit into a gospel station. There are artists that are trying to bring us together in the Christian music world, like Maverick City. The backlash they get from the Black and White church community is heart wrenching, because their motives are often being questioned for why they have tried to create music that unifies the church instead of dividing it.
We are held captive by Jim Crow. He has made us all believe that we have to remain on our side of the dividing line and this is so evident in the music world. When Beyoncé came out with her song “Texas Hold ‘Em” I did my usual rant about how foul her music is and then I had to do a full stop as I watched racism raise its ugly head again. I shifted my focus because of a video that came out from one of the lead actors from the Dukes of Hazzard, John Snyder. Let’s unpack that a minute. The Dukes of Hazzard was a show where the two main characters drove a car named after Robert E. Lee, with a confederate flag on the side of the car. This was a show that was popular when I was growing up. The character who played Bo Duke was being interviewed recently about Beyoncé’s song and the reporter complained, “Why do they always have to come over into our side…” John Snyder’s response was something like , “Well you know how a dog has to go around marking their territory.” One thing that Jim Crow did was create these lines where we all feel that some “space” belongs to us. America has a very ugly history, but there is something oddly beautiful about how we are actually all very interconnected. Country music does not belong to White people, but all of our ancestors contributed to its creation. Even the Banjo was created from a West African instrument that was recreated in America during slavery.
This is not a post that is trying to make a case for Black people owning everything, but all Americans have created American culture and music together. People claim that Rockin Roll is White music, but even Elvis Presley was open about how he had to bring in what he learned from various Black churches, music spots, etc. that he visited. This mix created Rockin Roll. Even B.B. King advocates for Elvis when he said, “Music is owned by the whole universe.” The Negro Spirituals gave birth to blues, jazz and eventually R&B. Jazz music has been a genre of music that has brought all of us together, sharing in the beauty of improvisation performed by not just Duke Ellington or Ella Fitzgerald, but it eventually included the music of people like the Rat Pack (Sammy Davis Jr., Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin).
For people to be outraged by Beyoncé’s latest country song reveals that Jim Crow is still alive in the hearts of people. For her to be the first Black singer to top the country music charts, when there are already Black artists in country music before her song came out, reveals that Black artists are not as welcomed as they should be in the country music world. Sometimes we choose to stay on our side of the Jim Crow line and sometimes we are kept from crossing the line. Beyoncé was brave enough to cross the line and bold enough to push through those who would try to keep her out. One thing I have found interesting is how all the races are celebrating her breakthrough and one thing that has broken my heart is seeing the racism that is being stirred as a result of it. When will we all be free for Jim Crow? I think one sign that we are set free from it, is when we stop thinking that American music belongs to any one side. We can teach out children to love all types of music, instead of rejecting music that we deem as too White or too Black.
I remember in Christian schools, I was taught that gospel music was not of God and therefore the schools would not allow Black students to sing gospel songs in school. I have met Christians today, who still think that gospel music is not of God and when I ask, they mention how the rhythmic nature of gospel music is too fleshy and that God wants people to be more sacred. When I hear this, I will ask them to explain why God tells us to praise God with percussion instruments and a dance in Psalm 150! No one can ever reply to that, because our country has created a theology that declares the rhythm that my ancestors brought across the waters to America is inferior. At the same time, if a song does not have the rhythm we enjoy, Black people will condemn it to being inferior. Yet, B2K and other pop artists have married the rhythm of my Black ancestors to the music of others to create a genre of music that does make all of us want to hit the dance floor.
For my final project for my masters in music education, I researched the story of African American music revealing how its evolution tells the story of Black people, but I realized that it told a much bigger story. As the music evolved, it revealed the ability of Black people to make something beautiful out of their pain and even to connect to the country that held them captive. When Black people crossover into genres, it is our way of connecting and creating connection. Music is a universal language and is strong enough to erase the Jim Crow line that continues to divide us. This makes me think of Bob Marley and his firm belief that his music would help to heal his land, yet it did much more. It crossed the waters and changed the entire world. All types of people gathered around his music and he still speaks through his music even though he has passed away. Now, we can see the same type of connection happening as we watch all types of people dancing to “Texas Hold ‘Em.” Yet, people are angry with Beyoncé’s success, instead of seeing how the song is bringing many people together. Why? Because they are still held captive by the Jim Crow line. Now if she would just write more songs that don’t conflict with my faith so much, then maybe I could dance along too.
