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Beyoncé's Coachella List Includes 'Lift Every Voice And Sing,' HBCUs and Destiny's Child

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Beyoncé was not only the first black woman to open Coachella, she also historically kicked off the festival by singing  'Lift Every Voice And Sing,' which is a poem set to music that is also known as the black national anthem. And that was amid a two and a half hour ode to HBCUs, HBCU halftime shows, marching bands, historically black fraternities and sororities, a Destiny's Child reunion, and then a dance-off with sister Solange, a Jay-Z special appearance and a clear artistic history lesson on the ties between modern urban dance and classic jazz dance.

In short, Beyoncé's two and half hour Coachella performance, known by many as #Beychella (and shouted out by DJ Khalid as Beychella midperformance), was not just entertainment; it was a show steeped in celebration of American culture. The setlist included a plethora of hits including  "Crazy in Love," "Formation," "Sorry," "Bow Down," "Drunk In Love," "Diva," "Flawless," "Déjà Vu" with JAY-Z, "Run The World (Girls),"  "Lose My Breath" with Destiny's Child, "Say My Name" with Destiny's Child, "Soldier" with Destiny's Child and "Love on Top."

“Thank you Coachella for allowing me to be the first black woman to headline,’ Beyoncé said of the 19th annual music festival before adding, “Ain’t that ‘bout a b—tch?”

The reason why everyone is talking about this performance is either that they don't understand it but appreciate the beauty of the black and gold and the pyramid backdrop. Or they do understand it and totally understand the use of black and gold and the pyramid backdrop. [Note to some, look up Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, also the frat of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, to get an idea of the possible message behind some of the visuals and colors.] Additionally, social media users have been having a field day trying to interpret Beyoncé's Greek lettered yellow hoodie. It sported the Greek letters for beta, delta and kappa. For some that might mean BAK, which some speculated was the name of her next album. But for others, it seems to mean B for Beyoncé followed by the pyramid, or delta, which references the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet. Meanwhile, the K could stand for Knowles.  The outfit could also simply be another nod to some of the gear worn by students at HBCUs or worn by people who are members of black Greek letter societies.

That said, essays could be written on the outfits alone. With Beyonce rocking shaggy-haired knee-high white boots more traditionally worn by the drum major of a marching band, and the dancers rocking knee-high white boots more traditionally seen worn by majorettes during a halftime show of a Historically Black College or University, the clothing was an immediate attaboy to the glorious history of the HBCU system. Though some of the universities and colleges now have fallen on tough financial times, these schools were once the only institutions of higher learning that African Americas were able to attend. Many on social media and in the crowd were elated to see the performer nod to the cultural significance of those institutions.

And then she informs the crowd to repeat after her: "I'm feeling myself. I'm feeling myself." Indeed.

Coachella viewers and the thousands who followed up on YouTube to watch the entire show got a certified platinum performance with multilayers of thought behind the articulation of an idea. And then around two hours into it, she changes clothes and brings out Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams to perform a few Destiny's Child hits as the group celebrates its 20th anniversary.

Much has been made of Beyoncé's 2013 Super Bowl performance and subsequent music videos which have been entertaining but also shed even more light on the feminist movement, Black Lives Matter and a more general and pointed uplift of key elements of black American culture.  This is definitely a good make-up for her cancellation in 2017 due to pregnancy and the subsequent birth of twins. This year's Coachella performance, part of a fest that last year sold 198,000 tickets, did not disappoint and will give plenty of us plenty to talk about for days with its references to church revivals, New Orleans second lines, the jazz age, feminism, strong images of powerful men and strong images of powerful women. That is, until the summer when Beyoncé heads around the globe with Jay-Z for On The Run II.

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