Beyoncé drops surprise song on Juneteenth to benefit Black-owned businesses

Popular US singer, Beyonce, has dropped a surprise new single as blacks across America celebrate Juneteenth on Friday.

The proceeds from the new single titled “Black Parade” will benefit Black-owned small businesses, a message entitled “Black Parade Route” on the singer's website said. The post included links to dozens of Black-owned businesses.

“I’m going back to the South, I’m going back where my roots ain’t watered down," Beyoncé sings, opening the track. At several points on Friday’s release, the singer tells listeners to “Follow my parade.”

“Happy Juneteenth. Being Black is your activism. Black excellence is a form of protest. Black joy is your right,” the message said.

Juneteenth commemorates when the last enslaved African Americans learned they were free starting from June 19 1865.

This year's Juneteenth was marked with new urgency this year, amid weekslong protests over police brutality and racism sparked by the May 25 death of George Floyd, a Black man, at the hands of Minneapolis police.

TODAY