I’m a huge fan of Beyoncé. She’s an incredibly successful and inspirational woman who creates thought-provoking music and art. When her self-titled album came out from nowhere with singles like “Drunk in Love,” “Flawless,” and “XO,” I was immediately reminded of just how talented Beyoncé is even though she coming up on ten years in the music business by the end of this year.

I remember exactly where I was when I found out that Beyoncé was releasing a new album. I was in my room watching Netflix when I got a message from my brother (who is also on Team Bey) saying that a new album was going to drop. She’s produced and developed entire albums with visual accompaniments in secret not only once but twice.

I sat down with my best friend so I could watch “Lemonade” and hear the music that Beyoncé had released last month out of the blue. Underneath all the lyrics and the visuals though, there is something more to be said about how important this new album is.

Between the video segments, Beyonce read poems by British-Somali writer Warsan Shire with a deep sense of loss, pain, and anger, giving us as an audience a glimpse into Beyoncé’s very personal and intimate life both in and outside of the spotlight.

What surprises me most is the conversations that “Lemonade” has sparked around the world about the life experiences of both Beyoncé and of black women across the country. Not only did she pull in multiple powerful black women like tennis player Serena Williams and actress Quvenzhané Wallis to appear in her visual album, but also the mothers of Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown, Sybrina Fulton and Lesley McSpadden respectively also appeared holding portraits of their lost sons.

Her single “Formation” gave us a glimpse into the trajectory of “Lemonade” by including a shot of a graffitied “Stop Shooting Us” literally written on the wall in the video and the message she is sending is clear: Black lives are still being violated by institutional oppressions that white individuals like myself will never experience in the same way under our current social systems.

There is a reason that Beyoncé utilized a recording of Malcolm X’s voice saying “the most disrespected person in America is the black woman” because it’s still as true then as it is now. Beyoncé may be one of the most successful musicians and business women in America today, but that hasn’t happened without skepticism and even outrage. Many see this album and Beyoncé’s overall success as an outright violation of our country’s initial vision- a country where the only votes that mattered were the votes of white male property owners.

But those “good ol’ days” are long gone. It’s high time that we all wake up and smell the reality of our racial past as Americans.

Macklemore took a similar avenue with his single “White Privilege II” from his new album to discuss the importance  for our society and for white people living in America to authentically deepen our commitment by standing up for black lives in whatever spaces we find ourselves in.

The privilege I hold as a young white woman living in America is not something I asked for, but it is something I can use to build a more just society for all people. I can do this by challenging state-sanctioned violence on black bodies and challenging white supremacy, and by supporting fellow organizers who are fighting tooth and nail against a system that sees certain people as disposable.

Beyoncé’s new album is a space for identity exploration and healing, as are the many recent convenings of the Black Lives Matter movement that have been popping up around the country. These spaces, like the recent candlelight vigil for the late Jamar Clark held in Minneapolis, ought be preserved and respected by all people as an opportunity for those who have experienced hardships and difficulties to reach a community catharsis and vision of where to go next,even if that means that white folks like me aren’t invited.

“Lemonade” is a beautifully crafted and thoughtful reminder of how important it is for white people to realize how much we benefit from a society that keeps so many people down, so that we can envision a better future for others.