Formation Screenshot
Raleigh, North Carolina police union voted to not boycott Beyoncé’s Formation tour coming to the city in May.
According to local reports, the Raleigh Police Protective Association voted unanimously Tuesday night to not boycott the upcoming concert on May 3 at North Carolina State University’s Carter-Finley Stadium.
After the pop and R&B singer’s Super Bowl halftime performance, many police unions around the country decided that protecting the music icon would not be in their best interest due to the Black Panther Party iconography in the performance and the alleged offensive images in the “Formation” video.
“We’ve been getting some calls from members who advocate a boycott, but the general consensus is, ‘We want to work,’ ” union spokesman Rick Armstrong said.
The image of Beyoncé sitting on a cop car drowning in water has made many police officers uneasy, because they think the video is “anti-cop.” But throughout the song the message is clear: She is simply asking unarmed people to not be killed by police.
“While we do have concerns over the perceived anti-law enforcement images Ms. Knowles uses in her most recent music video and her halftime performance at the Super Bowl, we voted unanimously not to boycott the May 3 concert,” read a statement from Raleigh Police Protective Association president Matt Cooper. “We encourage police officers to make an individual decision whether to volunteer to work off-duty at this concert.”
While cops are still debating if protecting the singer is a priority to them, the Nation of Islam has made a vow to protect her.
Other groups, like the Universal Zulu Nation founded by hip-hop artist Afrika Bambaataa to bring awareness to the art of hip-hop and Black culture, have also pledge solidarity with Beyoncé.
The Universal Zulu Nation held a press conference at the Black National Theater in New York City to reaffirm their support of Beyoncé and to ask others to do so, too.
