Beyoncé treated fans to a new song in celebration of Juneteenth. The empowering track, titled “Black Parade,” touches on the world’s current events, as well as celebrates Black excellence.
“Happy Juneteenth Weekend! I hope we continue to share joy and celebrate each other, even in the midst of struggle. Please continue to remember our beauty, strength and power,” Beyoncé wrote on Instagram on Friday. “‘Black Parade’ celebrates you, your voice and your joy and will benefit Black-owned small businesses.”
On her website, the singer also added, “Being Black is your activism. Black excellence is a form of protest. Black joy is your right.”
Additionally, “Black Parade” benefits BeyGOOD’s Black Business Impact Fund, administered by the National Urban League, to support Black-owned small businesses in need. On the “Love on Top” singer’s website, fans are also redirected to a page with more information on the companies.
Juneteenth, which combines the phrases “June” and “19th,” has long been called to become a federal holiday, as it marks the true ending of slavery in the United States. While President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation went into effect Jan. 1, 1863, it wasn’t until June 19, 1865, that General Gordon Granger and his Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, with news that the Civil War had ended and any enslaved people were freed by executive order.
With Black Lives Matter protests happening around the nation and the world following the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Rayshard Brooks, among too many others killed by police officers, and a general feeling of civil unrest, many, more than ever, celebrated the holiday this year.
