6 times Beyoncé proved she was a low-key activist

Queen Bey's been woke, but not everyone has noticed—until now.

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Image via Complex Original
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Beyoncé is a black woman who is being heavily critiqued for actively addressing injustices against the black community in her music.

With the release of her latest single "Formation" and its "unapologetically black" video, along with her pro-black Super Bowl performance, Knowles has garnered both praise and criticism for her politics in recent weeks. 

But her activism is nothing new—the 34-year-old singer has been slowly turning up the volume on her political stance over the years. Even Black Lives Matter activist DeRay Mckesson agreed that the singer is "more woke" than people give her credit for.

From tackling gender inequality to addressing police brutality, here are six ways Beyoncé has openly demonstrated her feminist politics and lent her voice to the contemporary civil rights movement. 

1. When she reminded men that she could upgrade them

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When she was 25, Beyoncé released her second studio album B'Day, touting a pro-women message that would eventually blossom into her fully feminist brand throughout the 2000s. 

In "Irreplaceable," she breaks up with a cheating man and flips the script by reminding him how phenomenal she is. With "Suga Mama," Bey challenges gender norms and becomes a financial domme, excited and ready to spoil her boo with her hard-earned cash. 


 

But it's in "Upgrade U" that Beyoncé fully owns her independent-woman status, with lyrics like: "I hear you be the block, but I'm the light that keep the streets on."

She's the star of the show, and she lets men know that they'd be nothing without her.

In the second verse, Beyoncé's claim becomes even bolder, likening herself to America's most iconic Civil Rights leader: "I can do for you what Martin did for the people, ran by the men but the women keep the tempo." 

2. When she was a superpower

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When Beyoncé released her self-titled fifth studio album, she'd just entered her 30s. She was a new mother to her daughter Blue Ivy, and began overtly owning her feminist identity.  

In spring 2013, months before her surprise digital album would be released, she graced the cover of Ms. Magazine—the same publication that helped instigate the third wave of feminism with a Rebecca Walker essay. Her cover story read: "Beyoncé's fierce feminism."

Beyoncé successfully dropped her self-titled album in an unprecedented manner, releasing it overnight with no prior promotion. ​The audio-visual album included 14 tracks and ​ reached No. 1 on several international charts. The video for one of the album's tracks, "Superpower", included footage that paid tribute to the emerging Black Lives Matter movement. Beyoncé, accompanied by fellow Destiny's Child members and Pharrell Williams, marched with a crowd of people of color who faced the police together:

3. When she was a flawless feminist

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If her Ms. Magazine cover and "Superpower" video didn't say it clearly enough, Queen Bey went on to proclaim herself a feminist in a way that left no room for misunderstanding.

While singing one of her No. 1 singles, "Flawless," Beyoncé stood in front of a giant florescent sign that flashed the word "FEMINIST." The song featured a famous feminist TED talk from Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie titled, "We Should All Be Feminists," and made Beyoncé's position crystal clear.

You can watch the performance in its entirety, below:  

vimeo.com

4. When she dropped a racial justice documentary

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In 2015, Beyoncé took her political allegiance a step further with the release of a short documentary about racial injustice against black men in America. After her performance of "Take My Hand, Precious Lord" at the Grammy's created a huge buzz on Twitter, Knowles released the doc titled, Take My Hand, Precious Lord: The Voices, which featured interviews of her back-up singers discussing Ferguson, Eric Garner, and what it's like to be black in the U.S. 

The black-and-white video was released on the singer's YouTube channel and website.

5. When she posted bail for Black Lives Matter protesters

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6. When she got in formation

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