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Beyoncé’s new song, “Texas Hold ‘Em,” has been out for about a month. It’s a country song, but with a strong spin of African-American influence. One or more country music stations initially chose not to play Texas Hold ’Em, unsurprisingly enacting the American racial/racist subtext.

For them, Beyoncé’s persona is too big, too Black, even as there are other Black country artists who do get airtime. Nonetheless, the song broke through, and it’s now #1 on the Billboard country music chart.

In a similar breakthrough example, “Fast Car” sung by Luke Combs is near the top on the country charts. Luke Combs is young, white, and from the South. Just recently, at this year’s Grammy Awards, he sang with (and graciously showed his respect for) Tracy Chapman, who had written “Fast Car” decades before.

Theirs was a much-heralded duet performance. Tracy Chapman is an African-American woman. She keeps her private life private, but is apparently a lesbian. Thus, she has all the boxes checked for a certain demographic of haters, and this makes Luke Combs’ embrace all the more significant.

In the current global moment — where the coldest, most callous of men seem to bend the arc their way, and where madness and bloody mayhem is the result — it can be hard to remember, to even imagine, that below the surface humanity continues a steady evolutionary push to acknowledge nature, advance rights, respect others, be conscious and collaborative in business, share parenting, become calmer and healthier with lifestyle choices, etc. Things can get better. Change happens.

Maybe in the social media age, it takes a cultural icon — daring and smart, talented, sexually at ease, every tech and trick at her disposal — to catalyze a new artistic and cultural integration. I like to think that Beyoncé has woken a waiting potential. Within days of her song’s release, YouTube filled with all kinds of white folks, black folks, gay folks, integrated friend groups, and families dancing their best hoedown moves to Texas Hold ’Em.

There were initial resistant claims that “Beyoncé can’t be country,” and this ignited a national conversation with most commentators saying she can, should, and God-bless her for it. The majority of opinion makers back the position that the watching, streaming, and dancing public has obviously endorsed. This is not to say all is peaches, not by any means, but only that trends are evident.