Beyoncé’s Coachella performance, a nod to HBCUs, makes history

Beyoncé’s Saturday night Coachella performance may have brought Historically Black Colleges and Universities back into the limelight, while making some history of her own.

Her performance marked the first time a black woman headlined the festival in Indio, California.

Many of her fans dubbed the achievement “Beychella.”

She was scheduled to headline Coachella last year but bowed out after becoming pregnant with Rumi and Sir Carter.

Her performance gave concertgoers and fans online a look into the nuances of Black College culture, such as “stepping,” a series of call-and-response dance moves traditionally performed by fraternities and sororities, along with a cameo by her husband, hip-hop artist Jay-Z, and a reunion with Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams, her bandmates during the peak years of Destiny’s Child.

The BeyHive, the nickname of her fanbase, took to Twitter to show their approval of what they witnessed.

During her nearly two-hour set, she also did a tribute to soul singer Nina Simone and quoted human rights leader Malcolm X.