Police unions urge boycott of Beyoncé concerts

Singer has come under fire for satirising law-enforcement during Super Bowl performance

CHICAGO: Police unions in the cities of Nashville, Tampa and Miami are urging officers not to volunteer at singer Beyoncé’s upcoming concerts, on account of what they claim was an anti-police message in her Super Bowl performance from February 7. The superstar sparked a controversy by making a public reference to the issue of police killings of men of colour and allegedly, paid homage to the Black Panther Party, which called an end police brutality. Some of the party’s members have also been convicted of murdering police officers.

Nashville Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) president Danny Hale claimed that while Beyonce has every right to support Black Lives Matter, she went much too far at the Super Bowl. “If you throw up the Black Panther Party as some sort of positive message, it is an anti-police message. The party has always been anti-policing,” said Danny in telephonic interview. Leaders of the Tampa and Miami FOP sent the same message to their members on Thursday, urging them not to sign up for overtime shifts working security at the concerts. Police departments in all three cities said that if they do not get to volunteer officers to work, they will mandate shifts in order to provide public security, as per media reports.



According to Danny, the boycott is meant to send a message, as opposed to leaving the concerts with no security. “Ultimately, the police department, for public safety purposes, will have to mandate officers to work,” he said. “We are professional and will do the job.”

The halftime performance show at the Super Bowl is traditionally, one of the most watched television events in America. This year, nearly 112 million viewers tuned in from across the world, to watch Beyoncé, Coldplay and Bruno Mars perform together. Beyoncé previewed her new single Formation — a power anthem for race and feminism. The video for the song features graffiti that reads “stop shooting us,” suggestive of the Black Lives Matter movement. The singer and her backup dancers also wore black berets, which also are being considered a Black Panther reference. Beyoncé is scheduled to play in Miami on April 27, Tampa on April 29 and Nashville on May 5. 

Published in The Express Tribune, February 21^st, 2016.

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