It's #BeyDay! 5 inspiring moments with Beyoncé.

 

I'll be honest. Black Girl Black Coffee is here, in part, because of Beyoncé!

This is a woman who has never been afraid to recreate herself. When she emerged as one of the original four Destiny's Child members, it was obviously that she was talented. However, over the years, she has shown herself to be a force. 

A musical force.

A fashion force.

A filmmaking force.

A feminist force. 

An business force. 

At this point, regardless of how you feel about Beyoncé, you've had plenty of time to reckon with her legendary status. Anytime she leaves, some comes back stronger, more creative, more unapologetic. Every time to gives, she gives relentlessly. 

What does she have to do with BGBC? Like many Black women with creative and entrepreneurial spirits, I, too, struggled with getting out of my boxes. For some years, I thought that because I do ministry and public theology, it wouldn't "make sense" for me to branch out and pursue my other passions, including coffee. As I reflect, this was a conflation of caring too much what other people thought of me, having very limited internalized definitions of purpose and ministry, and also being more beholden to external expectations that to the sound of my own genuine (in the words of Howard Thurman). Watching many Black women, but especially Beyoncé, helped me to get through this line of thought and just show up!

So, to celebrate her today, I want to share some of the Beyoncé moments that have inspired me most. 

1.  Her recent Harper's Bazaar feature. 

She speaks with the heart and the words of a grown, self-claiming woman. 

2. Her 2011 "Love on Top" performance at the MTV Video Music Awards. 

Throughout the performance, she's holding her stomach. When this aired live a decade ago, I got up and SCREAMED at the end!! 

3. Her 2017 "Love Drought/Sandcastles" performance at the Grammy Awards. 

The technology. The colors. The imagery. Her belly. It was so breathtaking. Sometimes, I just watch this when i need a brain break and spiritual tune-up. 

4. The entire Homecoming Documentary. 

I love to documentary because it's full of stories and behind the scenes. As an HBCU graduate and administrator, this is also full of nostalgia. I'll never forever watching this in Sisters Chapel, which was full of AUC students. When the name of our school flashed across the screen, we lost our minds!  The doc is only viewable to those who subscribe to Netflix. So, if you don't have Netflix, you can check out the full Coachella performance and the full album on YouTube. 

5. Lemonade. Periodt.

IYKYK. 

 

Long live Queen Bey!