"Black Is King" and The Black Dollar

Written by: Ajeé Buggam

Black Is King, the visual film to Beyoncé’s 2019 album The Lion King: The Gift, reminds us that Black is regal. It is a music film and love letter to individuals across the African Diaspora celebrating “the breadth and beauty of Black ancestry.” As Beyoncé reimagines the story of Disney’s classic movie The Lion King, she takes us across the globe (including West Africa, South Africa, New York, Los Angeles, and Europe), to show us the narrative of a young boy’s journey to self-discovery.

Beyoncé has set a new standard of Black excellence through combining African American history and African tradition with a contemporary edge. Her film also proves there are plenty Black directors, producers, writers, singers, dancers, designers, makeup artists, hairstylists, etc. to build wealth within our culture. Her team executed costume after costume, perfecting countless hairstyles, along with adding African art pieces, impeccable body art, and provided captivating visuals. Black Is King embodied tangible wealth within every minute of the 85-minute film. She reminded the world of the richness of Blackness.

As Beyoncé promoted her film on Instagram, she mentions, “The events of 2020 have made the film’s vision and message even more relevant, as people across the world embark on a historic journey. We are all in search of safety and light. Many of us want change. I believe that when Black people tell our own stories, we can shift the axis of the world and tell our REAL history of generational wealth and richness of soul that are not told in our history books. I pray that everyone sees the beauty and resilience of our people.”

Knowles does a phenomenal job at curating multiple talented African American and African artists like Tiwa Savage, Burna Boy, Yemi Alade, Nija, Shatta Wale, Pharrell Williams, Tierra Whack, Childish Gambino, and Jay-Z for The Gift album. The visual album heightened the beauty and showed the collaborations of both cultures becoming one, representing us as one people.

One of Black Is King’s most monumental aspects is how the story merges poetry to magnify the global Black experience. The song “Find Your Way Back” highlights the linage that all Black people are seeking to learn about themselves. As Black people, we share so much more in common than just the shades of our skin. At the beginning of the film, Beyoncé pushed a baby in a basket in the river, mimicking Moses’ biblical story. In the end, she picks him up out of the water, reborn, and granted access to a new, free world after overcoming the tribulations of rough waters. The water represents transformation, and the scene depicts the trials Black people across the globe experience and the healing process to wash away the violence of that history.

“I believe that when Black people tell our own stories, we can shift the axis of the world and tell our REAL history of generational wealth and richness of soul that are not told in our history books. I pray that everyone sees the beauty and resilience of our people.” — Beyoncé

The film repeatedly expands on the ideas of Black belonging. However you identify across the Diaspora — African American, Black, Black Caribbean, Black Brazilian, Black British — we are all trying to put the pieces together that were ripped from our ancestors. Black Is King paints a vivid picture of what is possible if we unite — the idea of collective work and responsibility. When we recognize and honor each other’s experiences and burdens, we can support one another.

Beyoncé mentions in the film, “To live without reflection for so long might make you wonder if you even truly exist.” There’s power in the Black dollar, but research shows the Black dollar only stays within the Black community on average for six hours. According to The Nielsen Company, we contribute more than $573 million annually to the beauty industry — 19% higher than any other demographic and 90% of the overall spending in the industry.

Oppression and unequal access to financial capital hinders our ability to accrue generational wealth. However, Black Is King suggests — though incredibly dramatized and Hollywood — what happens if we try to rebuild Black Wall Street. What would happen if we bring our beauty, our Black dollar, our influence, and our narratives back to our communities? What would happen if we truly recognized our own power and began to make asset collection and wealth-building (and redistribution) top priority?

Black Is King celebrates the culture, hope, innovation, but more than anything — power. As Beyoncé says, “Let Black be synonymous with glory. Black is regal. Black is King.”

Watch Black Is King on Disney+ and support Black-owned businesses with the Black Parade Route list.

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