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Beyoncé released “Lemonade”, her sixth studio album, on TIDAL after her program aired on HBO Saturday night. The Twitter world emerged with praises as we all watched in amazement. When I watched, I saw something a little bit more distinct than amazing. I saw MYSELF.
The album follows the journey of a woman dealing with her cheating husband. It expresses the stages of emotions that she encounters, including forgiveness in the end. Also, the album conveys how the woman must deal with the issues of her personal life while scathingly unfolding the chaos of the world around her. “Lemonade” is my story.
The pain that the woman suffers as she copes with the hurt from her husband reflects the hopelessness that I feel as I deal with the troubles of home. Just as the woman feels abused, abandoned, mad, and apathetic, so do I as I attempt to make sense of my troubles. I do not feel these emotions only about myself; I feel them as I try to understand the social issues of the world. So when I saw the mothers of Michael Brown and Trayvon Martin during the program, I wanted to cry because I felt their pain; it was our loss.
And when I heard the quote about black women by Malcolm expressing that “the most disrespected person in America is the black woman”, I wanted to punch a wall because it accurately described my rage.
At the end of “Lemonade” is where I found my hope. It was when I saw appearances from girls around my age like Zendaya and Amadla Stenberg sitting together and dressed alike during “Freedom” that I felt the true meaning of sisterhood. It showed me that I was not alone in my fight because I have a plethora of black women and girls who I call my sisters supporting me. Thus, I did not see Beyoncé as the icon that she is; I saw her as my sister. Likewise, “Lemonade” is more than just an album; it’s every black woman’s story of how we must make the best of our shortcomings.
“Imma keep running cause a winner don’t quit on themselves.”- Beyoncé