Much like Trevor Noah said in a clip that’s been burning up the internet, it’s possible to be both pro-police and pro-black. Beyonce demonstrated that in the most high-profile way imaginable, posting a tribute to the slain police officers of Dallas just a day after posting a powerful essay decrying police shootings of African-American men.
The tribute is an endless loop of the names of the five officers killed in Dallas, intercut with a close-up of the Texas flag waving in black and white. Bey — who is herself a Texas native — wrote that violence and murder would not effect change.
“Rest in peace to the officers whose lives were senselessly taken yesterday in Dallas. I am praying for a full recovery of the seven others injured. No violence will create peace. Every human life is valuable. We must be the solution. Every human being has the right to gather in peaceful protest without suffering more unnecessary violence.
To effect change we must show love in the face of hate and peace in the face of violence.”
Beyonce has proven to be a vocal supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement, both in her public statements and her artistry. This led to a series of silly boycotts from people who accused her of being anti-police. However, if this interview and the above tribute don’t make it clear, you can still support the police while thinking that the rates at which they kill black men is wrong.
