Tina Knowles, the mother of global icon Beyoncé, has spoken out about a distressing chapter in her family's history that has sent shockwaves to this day. In her new memoir Matriarch, Knowles tells the story of the night in 1967 when her brother, Skip, was a victim of police brutality for no greater crime than being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Skip had been on a date that evening and was on his way home when the cab driver accidentally let him out at the wrong house. The house was not far from his own, but the woman who lived there did not know him and, fearing the worst, called the police. When the woman noticed, she realized her mistake and called Tina's mother to clarify what had happened, but it was too late.
Police had already arrived, but instead of investigating, they arrested Skip. Tina, 71 now, remembers how her family stood by helplessly as he was dragged away. Her mother, terrified, could only scream, "Just please don't let them kill my son."
The next morning, that fear became a devastating reality. The family went to get Skip from the police department, and what they saw shocked them to the core; he was severely beaten and bloody, and they hardly recognized him. "They could've killed him… we thought he was dead," Tina wrote.
This single horrific event did not culminate with that brutal night. For Tina, however, the violence set the stage for years of intimidation and fear. Her family was the subject of periodic, repeated police harassment that left them "on guard all the time," the only safety they'd known stolen away.
Today, with her fierce grace and fashion sense (not to mention one of music's most iconic families), Tina Knowles is about as legendary as they come. Still, this story reveals another side of her: a daughter, a sister, and a witness to an injustice that scarred her entire family.
In Matriarch, Tina not only retraces the steps of her life spent nurturing superstars and navigating fame, but she also pulls the curtain back on a lived Black experience full of love, strength, and, unfortunately, the harsh reality of racial injustice. I think sharing Skip's story is a poignant reminder for anyone of the history of struggle, strength, and survival that certainly can be attributed to any celebrated figure.
These things are difficult to talk about, especially when soaked in fear and silence. But Tina's friend's courageous retelling of it is the voice of countless others who have had similar horror shows passed off as service and who may still be suffering through them. Matriarch is not just a memoir but a testimony, and Skip's tale is necessary for the world to hear.
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