Beyoncé dropped two new country singles and it wasn't long before the racism, revisionist history, and gatekeeping by country music stations who refused to play her songs began.

Sign the petition to tell country radio stations: Stop the racism and gatekeeping and play Beyoncé's new songs on your radio stations NOW!

Dear MoveOn member,

Country music is Black history. Country music, like many, many other genres, was invented by Black people, but racism, gatekeeping, whitewashing, and erasure in country music actively prevent Black artists from getting credit and being celebrated for their work. This is not new.¹ But the latest?

Beyoncé recently dropped two new country singles, "Texas Hold 'Em" and "16 Carriages," and it wasn't long before the racism, revisionist history, and gatekeeping began. First, Apple Music put the songs in its Pop category, when the songs are clearly country. And when fans started requesting Beyoncé's new songs at their local country stations, many of their requests were rejected. One station, KYKC, even responded to a fan's request writing, "We do not play Beyoncé on KYKC as we are a country music station."²

Will you sign the petition to demand that country radio stations stop the racism and gatekeeping and play "Texas Hold 'Em and "16 Carriages" on their stations NOW?

A study discovered that more than 11,000 songs played on country radio from 2002 to 2020, only 3% of those were from Black and brown artists, and of that 3%, only one-third were from Black and brown women.³

That means that Black and brown women represented only 0.001% of songs played by country radio over the course of 18 years. It's outrageous but, unfortunately, unsurprising.

The country music industry must finally reckon with its own racism and anti-Blackness, celebrate the roots of country in Black history, and celebrate Black artists reclaiming a genre they birthed.

The racism and gatekeeping has to end NOW. Click here to add your name to the petition to demand that country radio stations play Beyoncé's new songs NOW.

The banjo, one of the central instruments in country music, originated in Africa and was brought to the United States by enslaved African people.⁴ White people then appropriated the banjo and began using it for minstrel shows, where they would wear blackface and mock Black people and Black culture.⁵ It's disgusting and dehumanizing.

This led to the rise of hillbilly music as a marketing category, which became associated with a white, rural, southern audience. That's when "race records" were created, to segregate Black people out of the genre that they created, and music executives refused to let Black folks record songs that they deemed to be "hillbilly," purposefully whitewashing the genre even further.⁶

This history of country music shows how Jim Crow segregation harmed Black country music artists then, and still harms them today. 

Enough! The country music industry including country radio stations must take huge steps to make this right. Will you sign the petition?

Black music artists like Beyoncé are reclaiming country, a genre that was theirs to begin with. And we need to be in solidarity with them and challenge the status quo to pave the way for Black people to get a seat at a table that they created.

We can't sit idly by and watch this continue. Getting the country music industry—from radio stations to awards to other prominent artists—to honor Beyoncé's new songs as country is just one small step toward bringing about change. But with Beyoncé being the biggest artist in the world, this is an opportunity for us to keep pushing, educating, and fighting for change, and the impacts of our advocacy will pave the way for other Black country artists for generations to come.

Click here to add your name to this petition, and then pass it along to your friends.

Thanks!

–Jensine, Nakia, Eric, Isbah, and the rest of the team

Sources:

1. "Beyoncé is reclaiming country music for Black America," The Grio, February 19, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/187618?t=8&akid=376496%2E40999114%2EiBVsWv

2. Post on X by JUSTIN, February 13, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/187641?t=10&akid=376496%2E40999114%2EiBVsWv

3. "Beyoncé is getting played on country radio. Could her success help other Black women?" NPR, February 17, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/187619?t=12&akid=376496%2E40999114%2EiBVsWv

4. "Beyoncé Reappropriates 'Americana' With 'Renaissance Act II,' Reminding the Grammys and Country Music Awards of the Genre's Black Roots Years After Being Denied Just Acknowledgment for 'Daddy Lessons'" Atlanta Black Star, February 13, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/187621?t=14&akid=376496%2E40999114%2EiBVsWv

5. "A Dive Into the Black History of Country Music: Giving Credit Where It's Due," The Skidmore News, February 23, 2022
https://act.moveon.org/go/187624?t=16&akid=376496%2E40999114%2EiBVsWv

6. "Beyoncé is getting played on country radio. Could her success help other Black women?" NPR, February 17, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/187619?t=18&akid=376496%2E40999114%2EiBVsWv

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