To that end, Tina Knowles fought hard to keep her daughters—Beyoncé and Solange—close when they were growing up. She did her best to reinforce their relationship as they matured. She had an understanding of the importance of family dynamics. So, she started setting aside one day a week to spend exclusive quality time with each daughter. More specifically, Wednesday was focused entirely on Solange, which gave them the opportunity to develop their relationship and deepen their emotional connection.
Knowles knew how important one’s siblings can be, and often how difficult the relationships can be. She began taking Beyoncé and Solange together to therapy when they were both under the age of 12. For this project, she felt it was important for Beyoncé to know that Solange was always kind of in her shadow.
We’ve heard that Solange had a terrible time living with Solange in her shadow, and I wanted Beyoncé to acknowledge that. Second, we need to recognize that dynamic. It made her a lot more skittish and defensive,” she said. It was imperative to Knowles that she create an environment of support that would empower her two daughters to flourish as stand-alone women.
Though her brother Drew later became a successful architect, Tina Knowles grew up feeling stifled by his presence. This experience had a major influence on her perception of family structure. She would be damned if she was going to put her kids through the same experience she endured. “I just started seeing this separation, and I said ‘Oh no. Y’all are gonna grow up close,’” she stated, emphasizing her commitment to nurturing their bond.
To foster this sense of teamwork and collaboration even more, Knowles hosted Destiny’s Child rehearsals at her house. Solange was too young to officially be in the group at that time, but she wasn’t about to let that stop the dream. She enthusiastically mastered the choreography and jumped right in to the full experience. While the experience was hugely formative for Solange, it reaffirmed for her the power of sisterhood.
Though Knowles was motivated by nothing but good intentions, she ran into resistance from other family members, most notably her ex-husband, Matthew Knowles. “My family was upset, and even Matthew was not happy. He was like ‘I don’t want any parts of that,’” she recalled. Despite her reservations, she was determined that counseling would help build her daughters’ relationship. She knew that it would make them better both as people and as a crew.
It all began for Beyoncé as “this little star in the city.” When Solange, as a pre-teen, joined a competitive singing group, everything shifted on a dime. Knowles acknowledged these shifts sooner than most. She pushed through every temptation of stardom to keep their covenant intact, even though that fame came to her in an unexpected fashion.
Leave a Reply