Beyoncé’s love for the American flag raises questions for Black people

The pop star has been draped in the star-spangled banner for her album. This pride in the flag is misplaced

Beyonce is coupling her album, Cowboy Carter, with Americana-themed images. She straddles a white horse and holds the US flag in the album's cover art. In other photos, the flag is everything, everywhere, all at once - capes, boots, bomber jackets with leather frills, durags, sashes, scarves and hair beads. Unlike white artists who drape themselves in red, white and blue, Mrs Carter becomes a billionaire cultural astronaut, and drives the flag pole down into the ground as a stake for Black America. Capitalists will claim the territory. Levi's stock jumped 20% the week after Beyonce dropped its name on the album (the US denim brand is mostly made in China, India and Bangladesh). US flag apparel manufacturers might hope that the Cowboy Carter tour will do for them what Renaissance did for silvers and sequins.

The timing is terrible. The timing is always terrible to be a voluntary brand ambassador for the United States, intended or not. Economic inequality is increasing. Black people overwhelmingly experience the most hate crimes, which have soared by nearly 50% since 2019. The nation is always at war. Currently, Congress is Israel's personal Instacart for bombs against Palestinians trapped in Gaza. Yet is it possible for Cowboy Carter fans to separate Beyonce's pride in being a Black American woman, a southerner and Texan, from what the US has historically done, and is doing right now?