Watching Beyoncé at the Renaissance tour is an exercise in ripping open and throwing aside the boxes of ourselves and leaving them strewn behind a legion of fans and silver sequins.
We’re overlooked and undervalued. In an era when the pleas and battle cries of “support Black women” and “protect Black women” often ring hollow, displays of reverence and joy over Black women’s existence is often fleeting. When Black women attempt to celebrate their achievements and survival when others won’t or to speak their truth about experiences with racism, prejudice, violence and misogynoir, there’s a virtual shushing that tends to happen.
That meant being nearly out of breath trying to sing the repeated last lines of “Love on Top” while Beyoncé pointed the mic to the crowd because even though she couldn’t see us you wanted to make her proud that we attempted to hit the notes. We got chills watching her and the other performers do the slow nod to the opening beats of “Formation” as Big Freedia’s voiceover made clear we would have a taste of what Queen Bey wanted to offer us and nothing more.
You don’t want to be the person who says “you just had to be there,” but in some ways you had to be. It’s an echo of the renaissances we read about now — you can’t unsee it and you have to spread the word about it because you can’t keep the newfound experience of inspiration, grandness and creativity to yourself.
At the end of the show, Beyoncé called on the audience to hold onto how they feel in that moment and remember who they were with. The trouble with celebrations is you don’t want them to end because you don’t know if or when you’ll be able to feel that euphoric feeling again. Celebrations are so often scheduled, but it’s not promised everyone will be there.
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