Wednesday, April 27th brought the moment they've all been waiting for, thought the rank and file of Miami's chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police, who established back in February that they were set on sending a message to Beyoncé by refusing to work her Formation World Tour. And the numbers are in. Of the union's 1,100 local members, only 30 were in uniform for the grand kickoff at Marlins Park, but every last seat in the 36,742 stadium was filled, and quite a few of those in attendance got to walk away with a souvenir Bey can thank the FOP's media campaign for enabling her to sell: their very own "Boycott Beyoncé" t-shirt.
Fans who visited the gift shop at last night's show were perhaps boggled to find the new line of products, which include phone cases that also tip the cap at opponents of the socially conscious material on the star's Formation project. By indication of reactions tweeted along with pictures of the tees [which will earn her $45 a pop], the response has been largely positive. The move to commodify the slogan comes at an opportune time for the savvy entrepreneur, as last weekend's release of material off of her 6th album, Lemonade, has already roused a similar dissent to the outspoken nature of more recent Beyoncé music.
President Lt. Javier Ortiz led the call for the national police union to boycott across U.S. cities, to punish the influential performer for her set during the Super Bowl half-time show. He called her dancers' provocative dramatization of a militant component of the 1960's civil rights era a salute to the 50th anniversary of the Black Panther Party; a sentiment shared by many in law enforcement. On the opposite end of the issue there were citizens passionately protesting a wave of police brutality at the time, who applauded Bey's advocacy. Ortiz didn't see it that way, accusing the singer of "[using] this year's Super Bowl to divide Americans by promoting the Black Panthers and her anti-police message."
There has yet been word from the FOP leadership on whether Beyoncé's attempt to bring boycotters and consumers at the remaining 40 stops of her tour, together around the unifying message, will garner the union's support.
Source: complex.com | Photo credit: Twitter
