“And since we all came from a woman

Got our name from a woman and our game from a woman

I wonder why we take from our women

Why we rape our women, do we hate our women?

I think it’s time to kill for our women

Time to heal our women, be real to our women

And if we don’t we’ll have a race of babies

That will hate the ladies, that make the babies

And since a man can’t make one

He has no right to tell a woman when and where to create one

So will the real men get up

I know you’re fed up ladies, but keep your head up”

- Tupac Shakur 

Clear your mind here

Message me (1) thing you want to know about me.

Listen, white people (and other non-black people)

Yes, darlings, Specifically YOU A lot of people have been trying to explain why Lemonade and Formation wasn’t for you. In simple terms, it’s an ode to black women. Our culture, our pains and our triumph. If you didn’t understand Lemonade or Formation, either the visuals or the message, it’s because it wasn’t for you. The terms, the slang, the emotions. If you didn’t understand Lemonade, let me tell you - plenty of black women did and it gave them chills and tears were probably shed and it shook them. Because those visuals were us, what we go through and what we continue to go through. Beyonce herself confirmed this. If you want to understand, listen to the black women, the black people, that have something to say about it. How it affected them and changed them, the imagery and how it made them feel. It just was not for you. Beyonce has plenty of albums, plenty of songs…but Formation and Lemonade were not for you at all. If you want to take it in, soak the imagery up, then do so. But your opinion on it is not up for discussion because it was a call and beckon for black women, for black people. And it’s not rude, not harsh. Lemonade is something for you to take in and try to understand - from the sidelines. All the information and words black people have spoken about it is what you should read and soak in. Because your view is skewed and different from ours. Be polite. Hush. Concentrate. Take Lemonade and Formation as a lesson and instead of trying to take, learn.

Richa Gill (@RiichaG_)