Gil Scott-Heron warned us in1970 that the “revolution will not be televised,” but he could not foresee the cultural hijackings of a corporate world stage by Black and Brown artists. We are still talking about Kendrick Lamar’s 2025 performance at the Super Bowl. We’ll be unpacking Bad Bunny’s performance for months to come. However, there is a purist streak in our racial justice movement that keeps us from seeing the organizing opportunities around us if all the boxes are not checked off.

Some leftists proclaim that the Super Bowl and anything associated with it only benefits the capitalist class and is therefore counterrevolutionary. That is a slap in the face for those of us who have a realistic critique of racial capitalism. We truly do understand that a meme is not going to lead to the downfall of capitalism.

These two performances were not just mere entertainment; they challenged our critical thinking skills with layers of symbolism and messages about the systems of oppression that are crushing us globally. It was a refreshing departure from the mindless amusement generally presented to us. Those of us who are organizing for transformative change in the U.S. could take a lesson in imagination against the machine. Performances like these are rare gifts to us to raise consciousness, to inspire resistance against the capitalist/imperialist system, and to consolidate international multiracial working-class power.

If we step down from our purity perch, we will see creative ways to amplify the messages in Bad Bunny’s performances that could infuse energy into the organizing around that particular issue. Here are a few examples:

The performance’s opening scene with the sugar cane fields was a powerful reminder that enslaved Africans were brought to the Puerto Rico island to work. This was the beginning of a shared experience of oppression with the indigenous people. We have to lift the historic relationships between Black and Brown people that must be protected from the ruthless tactics used by our common enemies to divide us.

Bad Bunny’s song about the colonization of Hawai’i, comparing it to Puerto Rico, was a history lesson in itself. Most people in this country don’t know these are stolen lands and that the indigenous people have never given up their right to sovereignty and self-determination. Bunny defiantly carried the Puerto Rican independence flag, once banned by the colonizers. He gave us an entry point to educate people about the need to support the shared struggles for land rights on this continent and national liberation in other countries. We especially need to identify the common colonizers and be vigilant about invasions and destruction of land using our tax dollars.

Bunny’s call out of the countries of North, South and Central America was riveting and affirming. From what I read and saw, the peoples of these countries cheered at the recognition. Belize was the only country omitted, although its flag was represented. More than a geography lesson, this part reclaimed the inclusive concept of the Americas of the Northern Hemisphere and rebuked the United States of America as the sole country. It was an intentional push for Pan-Americanism, much like the Pan-Africanism of Africans in the diaspora.

Kendrick and Benito, aka Bad Bunny, have never claimed to be a Malcolm X or a Che Guevara. They are not revolutionaries encouraging their listeners to overthrow governments; they are not organizers. Based upon their lived experiences, they do have an anti-capitalist, anti-colonialist worldview. Our movement should be getting more sophisticated about how to effectively use culture as a weapon of resistance that builds mass global movements. Self-proclaimed revolutionaries should lead the way in taking us to the next level.