Love her or hate her, there’s no way around it: Beyoncé is on a roll.
After the surprise release of a new single, “Formation,” along with a politically-charged accompanying music video, Beyoncé took the stage during the halftime show at Super Bowl 50 to perform the track and announced her first headlining world tour in years. The Formation World Tour is set to kick off in Miami in April.
While fans are overjoyed at the surge in Beyoncé-related activities, her politics have earned her some critics who claim that her support of the Black Lives Matter movement is “anti-cop,” such as former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani and Republican Congressman Peter King.
However you feel about Beyoncé’s politics, you can’t claim that she’s not putting her money where her mouth is. With the announcement of her Formation World Tour it was revealed that the tour would in part be a benefit for the victims of the ongoing water crisis in Flint, Michigan – a crisis that some commenters have claimed is related to Flint’s majority-black population. Read the statement:
“True to her life’s work of always giving back, fans will be given the opportunity to participate in Beyoncé’s #BeyGOOD initiative supporting local United Way programs and the continued work surrounding the water crisis in Flint, Michigan. United Way of Genesee County has been at the forefront of distributing thousands of filtration pitchers, faucet mount filters, replacement cartridges and truckloads of water to underserved populations to address immediate needs in Flint Michigan. They are also partnering with the Community Foundation of Greater Flint to create a fund that will address long-term developmental, education, nutrition and health needs of the children affected by the Flint Water Crisis. Follow @beygood on Twitter for more information.”
The Water Crisis in Flint
In case you’re not up to speed on the situation, the water crisis in Flint is related to dangerous levels of lead in the Michigan city’s municipal supply of drinking water. Prior to 2013 Flint’s water was sourced from Lake Huron. Then in what was supposed 
to be a money-saving move, the state and local governments switched to sourcing the city’s water from the polluted Flint River.
While water from the river may have been safe to drink on its own, the water wasn’t treated properly and caused lead to be leached from the city’s aging plumbing pipes, tainting the water. Almost immediately residents began complaining about discoloration and poor tasting water. Government officials insisted the water was safe to drink.
By February 2015 the problem was widely acknowledged, but the state continued to deny allegations until September and October of that year.
As of this writing, the water in Flint is still unsafe to drink, and as many as 9,000 children in Flint have been exposed to unsafe levels of lead. Charities are stepping up to provide safe water and filters, including celebrities like Beyoncé, Rosie O’Donnell, Seth Meyers, Aretha Franklin, Madonna, Mark Wahlberg, Eminem, and more.
How You Can Help
Donations of money, bottled water, and other supplies are being accepted by several local charities, including The United Way of Genesee County, the American Red Cross, Catholic Charities of Shiawassee and Genesee Counties, and more. The Community Foundation of Greater Flint has set up the site www.flintkids.org for those who wish to donate money.
If you’d like to support Beyoncé’s #BeyGOOD initiative, you can get tickets to the Formation World Tour on CapitalCityTickets.com by clicking here.
Top Photo Credit: By Asterio Tecson, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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