Mixing art and love in contentious times
Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.
— Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. talked constantly about the enduring power of love to conquer hate. Last weekend’s “Benito Bowl’ performance during the NFL Superbowl offers a timely Black History Month reminder of the roles love and art can play in successful campaigns against hatred and injustice. Following history’s script, artists have once again stepped up to deliver the mighty mix of love and resistance.
Crushing Hatred with Light and Love
Last fall, after the NFL announced Bad Bunny (nee Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio) as headliner for their 2026 Superbowl halftime show, I was disgusted by the degree of public hateration that followed. Not surprised, just disgusted.
Granted, it was a bold decision for the NFL to select an artist whose lyrics are nearly all in Spanish. But to me, selecting the WORLD’S MOST POPULAR recording artist, who has mad crossover appeal in a nation where 13% of the population is Spanish speaking, seemed like a brilliant marketing decision. I couldn’t wait to see Benito and crew crush the haters. And CRUSH them they did.
Within just 13 minutes, the Benito Bowl not only delivered an amazingly creative and danceable celebration of history, culture and social commentary, mostly in Spanish; the show also drew 135+million viewers. That toppled the record set last year by Kendrick Lamar (133+million viewers). Nothing else on broadcast TV or streaming last Sunday night even came close.
Love as a Conscious Choice
Benito is sharply critical of the government’s growing mistreatment of immigrants. Yet, his halftime show emphasized love: love of self, family, culture, land, country, art, life, and love of humanity.
In the days since, social media has been full of Puerto Ricans and others confessing that they shed tears of joy as they danced along during the show. To me, that speaks volumes about the power of art, cultural representation and love to invoke pride and bridge boundaries.
Cultural Representation Matters
The desire for cultural representation is what inspired 20th century historian/archivist Arturo Adolfo Schomburg to amass a collection of more than 10,000 books, manuscripts, and art documenting the life and history of Black people. His collection has since grown to more than 11 million items, which are now available to the public at the New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. By the way, in case you don’t know, Schomburg was a Puerto Rican of African descent.
Like MLK, I believe the more we understand our history, share our stories and lead with love, the better positioned we are to resist erasure and appreciate what it took to get us where we are today. Only then can we fully understand, as Bad Bunny seems to, that the way forward is — and has always been — through love.