As we all probably know, Kendrick Lamar’s 2025 Super Bowl Halftime performance has caused quite some controversy within America and its citizens. Many people viewed the performance as an act of symbolism and expression due to these hard times American minorities are enduring, while others (more specifically MAGA supporters) described the show as “Black nationalist” and called Lamar a “mumbling pagan Satanic cultist.”
The 2025 halftime performance had so many subtle but revealing elements within itself. One, in particular, was Serena Willams dancing crip walk in a blue outfit. After her performance at the 2025 Superbowl, Serena stated, “Man I did not crip walk like that at Wimbledon…I would have been fined.” In the past Williams had received much controversy due to her style of self-expression, and one specific example was the 2012 Olympics as she performed a crip walk dance in celebration of her win against Maria Sharapova. I felt that her dance was a form of articulation and individualism, while critics disagreed labeling her as one who “glorified gang violence”. However, if they only knew the real history behind it would they still say that?
The crip walk dance stems all the way back to The Black Panther Organization. Caucasian gangs had attacked African American neighborhoods for years due to racial motives and while the police were supposedly there to “protect and serve” everyone, they too acted upon innocent African American people in brutal ways. In response to both economic racism and police brutality, The Black Panther Organization was formed by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale in 1966. The Black Panther party was created to protect its people from police brutality, reduce joblessness, provide community education, legal aid, and more.
The FBI stated that the “Black Panthers were the biggest threat to the internal stability of USA.” As a result, they cracked down on its’ leaders and a new problem existed—the crack epidemic. Due to political wars in South and Central America, the United States needed a way to fund their support, and one was how they allowed Iran-Contra drug dealers to deal throughout the country. These drugs had spread like wildfire within the African American community. I feel that this was their only opportunity to swiftly achieve financial freedom since we’ve always been at a disadvantage due to job and educational inequality. Therefore, as the Black Panther organization dissolved, the Crips and Bloods emerged doing the only thing that they knew best to survive. This is how the crip walk dance started, originally as a form of communication between gang members claiming their territory.
As a reference to shed light onto this situation, I feel that Lamar had Samuel L. Jackson say, “Ooh so you brought your homeboys with you?” In my opinion, I think that this signifies the fear Americans tend to have when groups of African American people get together, ultimately inferring that they are there to start trouble. Furthermore, I think the system prefers when African Americans are at odds with each other because it draws away the attention of the corruptness that the government is doing to us.
I feel that if only African Americans knew how much of an effect they have on this country would they truly believe that they can rise up against such systemic oppression? Although African Americans only cover about 13.4% of the United States’ population, we are considered the second largest spending group in this country. In 2025, it is predicted that African Americans will spend about $1.98 trillion dollars in Black buying power. I believe that if we cut this number off simply by 1/3, it may impact companies who discriminate against us and who’ve taken away DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion).
I think that Kendrick’s performance was no more than an eye-opener and revelation to what minorities have been enduring for years. I believe that the system tries in many ways to silence those who act in unique ways that society is not used to (e.g. Serena William’s crip walk), but it is our job to come together putting our differences aside to defend ourselves. No one can fight this fight for us, but us, and that is when the revolution will truly begin.