Beyonce made history when she became the first Black woman to wear the Tiffany diamond—but she also sparked controversy. As Karen Attiah points out in the Washington Post, there's a disturbing story behind the 128.54 carat yellow diamond, and in the opinion of many, "it doesn’t go too far to say: Beyonce is wearing a blood diamond." What you need to know:
- The history: Charles Lewis Tiffany discovered the diamond in a South African mine in 1877, when "British forces launched battles of conquest and harsh discriminatory practices against African tribes and laborers," Attiah writes. "South Africa’s conflict-ridden mining industry paved the way for apartheid. ... Thousands of African lives were lost and communities destroyed in the colonial quest to control the continent’s resources. And today, South Africa’s white minority continues to hold most of the country’s power and wealth."