In Beyoncé's visual album Lemonade, the first song featured was Pray You Catch Me. In this number, Beyoncé wore a black sweatshirt with the hood draped over her head for a majority of the song. At the end of this scene, she removed the hood off of her head and falls from the roof of the building. I find the significance of this article of clothing striking and not unprecedented.
Similarly, on the cover of the book Citizen by Claudia Rankine, there is a floating image of a black hood. The repetition of this symbol cannot go unnoticed, especially in the conversation about the treatment of black lives in America.
To me, this hoodie alludes to the slaying of Trayvon Martin in 2012. When he was fatally shot by George Zimmerman, he was said to have appeared "suspicious" because he was wearing a sweatshirt with the hood up. This excuse for racism did not go unnoticed and has become a symbol of the Black Lives Matter movement.
I think that in the video for Pray You Catch Me in Lemonade, Beyoncé was also alluding to this symbol of the black hoodie. Although Lemonade was mostly focused on the struggles of black women in America, the struggles of black men did not go ignored. I think that Beyoncé's utilization of this symbol in the beginning of the visual album showed her support for the Black Lives Matter movement and her support for young black men in America.
I was thinking the same thing! I also think looking deeper into the title of the song Pray You Catch Me can offer a lot more as well. Clearly I cannot say for certain this is the message Beyonce was trying to get across, but I think it is so powerful that she is almost taunting police brutality and then jumps off the building into a pool, which seems to be a beautiful rebirth of sorts. I think that was so symbolic that Beyonce is showing that when you thought she was going to die she just came back stronger, and to me alluded to the Black Lives Matter movement very strongly.
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