While the world is still buzzing about Beyonce’s historic performance at Coachella—her mother Tina Knowles is coming clean about her personal reservations regarding show’s theme and how her eldest child schooled her on what it could mean for the world.
“I told Beyonce that i was afraid that the predominately white audience at Coachella would be confused by all of the Black culture and Black college culture because it was something that they might not get,” Tine confessed on her Instagram account Monday afternoon.
And to her credit fans watching from the livestream at home did note some of the confused white faces in the crowd during Saturday’s showstopping set.
But according to Tina, her daughter expected as much and did the performance anyways in hopes that same confusion would spark curiosity—and ultimately acceptance.
“Her brave response to me made me feel a-bit selfish and ashamed,” Tina continues. “She said I have worked very hard to get to the point where I have a true voice and At this point in my life and my career i have a responsibility to do whats best for the world and not what is most popular“
She said that her hope is that after the show young people would research this culture and see how cool it is, and young people black and white would listen to “ LIFT EVERY VOICE AND SING and see how amazing the words are for us all and bridge the gap.
She also hopes that it will encourage young kids to enroll in our amazing Historically Black Colleges and Universities. I stand corrected ❤”
Not only is Beyonce committed to sharing the beauty and cultural importance of HBCUs with the general public, she’s also putting her money where her mouth is to help those seeking to enroll.
Monday morning, it was announced that four HBCUs will receive her newly established Homecoming Scholars Award Program for the 2018-2019 academic year.
Xavier, Wilberforce, Tuskegee and Bethune-Cookman, are all historically black colleges and universities that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-American community and will benefit from BeyGood’s newest initiative.
“We salute the rich legacy of Historically Black Colleges and Universities,” states Ivy McGregor, Director of Philanthropy and Corporate Relations at Parkwood Entertainment which houses BeyGOOD.
“We honor all institutions of higher learning for maintaining culture and creating environments for optimal learning which expands dreams and the seas of possibilities for students.”