Fifty years ago, James Brown, the "Godfather of Soul," released the iconic song, "Say It Loud, I'm Black and I'm Proud." It was released in August 1968, just four months after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
Randall Kennedy, a Harvard law professor, said he remembers when he first heard the song. The funk- and soul-inspired hit was like nothing he had heard before — especially at a time in which Kennedy said overt "colorism," or the preference for lighter skin color, was prevalent in the black community. It is one of the landmark cultural texts of the 1960s. The Black Liberation Movement had a variety of fronts. One front was outward facing challenging white supremacy. The other front, however, and a very important front was the inner struggle in black America to rehabilitate itself, reclaim itself. The basis of Black Power is various ideologies that aim at achieving self-determination for black people in the U.S. Black power dictates that blacks create their own identities despite being subjected to pre-existing societal factors. The first popular use of the term "Black Power" as a political and racial slogan was by Stokely Carmichael (later known as Kwame Ture) and Willie Ricks (later known as Mukasa Dada), both organizers and spokespersons for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). Now Fifty years later , Beyonce comes now and says in the midst of civil unrest , Black Lives matter and A crazy Trump in office and declares “Black is KING 👑”! Black Is King, Beyoncé’s third visual album, which was released on Disney+ on July 31, reinvents the coming of age story of The Lion King. The film’s narrative mirrors Simba’s journey from young prince to king. But Black Is King, which was directed and produced by and stars Beyoncé, tells an altogether different story that cements ancestral connections between Black Americans and the people of the African diaspora. In my opinion, In a world full of racism, a world where being Black makes many doubt their capabilities, Beyoncé Knowles' Black Is King – a visual companion to the 2019 album The Lion King: The Gift — is a breath of fresh air. In it she shows that Black is beautiful. Black is glorious! Black Is King is inspired by the 2019 remake of The Lion King. It tells viewers the story of a young African king who is cast out into the world as a baby — and grows up to return home to reclaim his throne. Along the way, he meets figures who connect him to his history, his family and identity – with ample music and dancing. Beyoncé, who plays a mother figure and narrator throughout the film, encourages Black people to see the leader within and not be defined by negative narratives of Africa. Let’s make all of the World 🌎 understand and proclaim Loudly 🎙🔊🔉and say with me that BLACK is KING 👑!
