Beyoncé knows all eyes are on her when she gives an opinion on something, so she is very selective in what she chooses to speak on. However, this afternoon Queen Bey posted two images to Instagram, addressing the violence and rioting that has taken place in Baltimore in response to police misconduct. Using her celebrity to bring attention to the cause, she urged her fans to support cleanup efforts for the city.
"People are hurting. Join us in supporting the NAACP to help in the cleanup efforts and provide housing, food and supplies to those affected by the unrest in Baltimore," she captioned a photo of a man wrapped in what appears to be an American flag with the names of black men who've been killed by police officers in recent years.
A photo posted by Beyoncé (@beyonce) on Apr 30, 2015 at 9:55am PDT
She then posted a video clip from TIME magazine that explains what has changed in race relations and what has not since 1968.
A video posted by Beyoncé (@beyonce) on Apr 30, 2015 at 9:54am PDT
Beyoncé is one of many artists who have spoken out in light of recent events. Yesterday, the Game penned an op-ed piece for Billboard about the Baltimore riots and being a part of the 1992 riots in Los Angeles.
"I don't like to think I can foresee anything, but I would hope she foresees how these kids are acting out, how they want their voices to be heard, because if there's no indictment or charges of those officers, things could get even crazier," he wrote. "The police really killed Freddie Gray without reasoning and provided no excuse. As a people, we're just tired. The words 'animal' and 'thug' [are] being tossed [around] in reference of our people, and I don't like it. When our people have been oppressed, neglected, [with] poor education, unaffordable housing, lack of resources, [lack] of rights, [fought against] police brutality [and] racism... to be looked at as 'thugs' and 'animals' only shows that reaching out for help and change may be the wrong thing to do.
"Baltimore hasn't burned like this for 40 years plus," he continued. "We've had the NAACP for over a hundred years. What have they done to prevent these things from happening? To show our youth that they're in power and strength? Some change has been implemented, but the most the NAACP, churches and community leaders have done is exist. So as a young African-American man, what are we supposed to do when all the black organizations in place have apologized and tried for change but it hasn't done much? After a while... when that doesn't work, things get crazy."
