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Beyonce's Super Bowl 50 Outfits, Performance Paid Tribute To Black Panthers

Berets and black leather made for an unmistakable homage.

Beyonce may have stolen the show at one of TV's biggest events Sunday night, but she also wasn't afraid to get political.

During the star's Super Bowl halftime performance, she and her backup dancers donned black leather outfits and black berets — a tribute to the activist Black Panthers, which formed 50 years ago.

Advocacy group The Dream Defenders posted this shot on Twitter.

But Beyonce's whole performance of her new single, "Formation," was a hat tip to black activism. At one point during the song, Bey and her dancers delivered a black-power salute.

“OK, ladies, let’s get in formation!” she sang.

The new tune, which Beyonce dropped Saturday along with a music video, impressed many online with its messages about the #BlackLivesMatter movement, as well as its myriad references to black culture.

"It is quite literally the blackest thing she has ever done (at least in public)," wrote Jenn M. Jackson on the Black Youth Project website.

Bey's dancers also honoured Mario Woods, a black man killed by San Francisco police in December, at the show.

As Jackson also wrote for Water Cooler Convos, the singer hasn't been particularly vocal about black issues in the past, but given her new video and Super Bowl performance, it looks like she's not holding back now.

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