Image: Grandson Christian Bennett, with me on the night Kendrick Lamar shook America.
Y’all, Sunday night was a sight to behold, and my grandson, Christian Bennett, was here with me to witness it. I know it’s Black History Month, but I celebrate my blackness 365 days a year, and Sunday night affirmed why. I witnessed the halftime Super Bowl performance of Kendrick Lamar, an omniscient rapper who gave us a symbolic narrative for the “game” of being Black in America. After experiencing the noise of a Super Bowl party, my grandson escaped to my house to watch the performance with me, his Black elder.
Although these 74-year-old ears could not understand the words, I was mesmerized by Lamar’s rapping skills. The effect of the energy Lamar created had Christian moving out of his seat and me dancing to “They not like us,” the punchline of his Grammy-winning song. (No, I wasn’t Crip Walking like Serena Williams). Lamar’s reputation preceding the performance, the geometrically lighted stage, and Samuel L. Jackson’s (Uncle Sam’s) invitation to play the “game” had me researching social media to fully comprehend what I saw.
I defer to this YouTube post by Bobby Foster to break down every element of Lamar’s poignant performance. However, what brought me to this post was my senses stirred through Lamar. I feel Black America has been under assault for as long as this country has been in existence, especially now. Because we have been systemically divided through so much trauma, we have fallen to mental assault. No true history is taught, critical thinking is diminished, and we wade through muddy waters to find our way to the true heroes of our story – us! We are who we have been waiting for, and performances like Lamar’s clear our vision.
The Super Bowl performances of not only Kendrick Lamar, but Samuel L. Jackson, Jalen Hurts and Coach Autumn Lockwood, Ledisi, and Jon Batiste remind me that no matter what America does to us, we don’t merely survive; we rise, and all the colors of the world rise through us. This truth is magnified by true history, literature, music, and many inventions we enjoy. The universe is infused with/by us. We cannot be diminished; through every breath we take, we are Blackety, Black, Black, and the universe breathes with us. What?!!
Joy Juice
The music we dance to takes us to a new level of understanding. We are truth in spiritual light, not to be diminished. The youth found a way to cut through every age-group to clean our glasses off and ears out and remind us there are new ways of speaking. I am listening.
“I got loyalty, royalty inside my DNA” – Kendrick Lamar
“Garap lo tbia gadbia mou sajati.” — Wolof Proverb, West Africa
The split tree still grows.
The human spirit is the lamp of the Lord.” – Proverbs 20:27
“It’s all good/love/God” – Victorine
© 2025 Vicki Goldston, All rights reserved.
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Author of Be S.A.F.E., StillAware, Faithful, Excellent, now available on Kindle Amazon as an e-book.
“…the book title and its content are intended to be a whisper, reminding us that by connecting with our spiritual self, we can center through anything and that we are forever within the bubble of God’s protection.”
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