Recently, pop star Lizzo visited the Library of Congress to view its flute collection, which is one of the largest in the world. Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden invited her via Twitter, citing Lizzo’s pop hit “Good as Hell.”

She toured the vault and played a few of the flutes for the staff, then later that night briefly played a historically significant crystal flute in her concert. After playing a few notes to the excited arena, Lizzo said excitedly “…I just twerked and played James Madison’s crystal flute from the 1800s! We just made history tonight! Thank you to the Library of Congress for preserving our history. History is freaking cool, you guys!”

French flute maker Claude Laurent created the flute in 1813 and sent it to President James Madison. Dolly Madison is believed to have saved the flute when fleeing as the British invaded and set fire to the White House in 1814. After passing through the hands of several people, it made its way to the Library of Congress in 1941.

So why is it OK that Lizzo played the flute, when Kim Kardashian wearing a historic dress was widely criticized by the museum world?

Clothing and textiles are made of much more fragile materials than musical instruments. The fibers in that historic dress lose elasticity over time, and are prone to breaking and tearing. Wearing it in a hot environment under lights for a prolonged period of time also damages textiles, and moving while wearing the dress only increases the risk.

Musical instruments, on the other hand, should be played, so that their keys, valves, joints, and other parts don’t deteriorate. There is a long tradition of musicians playing historical instruments in museums, including several violins in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, whose Curator of Musical Instruments Ken Moore notes that occasional playing “revives the instrument, akin to waking from sleep.” Lizzo is a classically trained flutist, who knows how to handle the instrument carefully. She also had it onstage for less than a minute, with curators standing by. Staff from the Library of Congress and the Capitol Police escorted the flute to and from the venue safely, and even tweeted again when the flute arrived “home.”

Engaging with artifacts can also provoke thinking about them in a modern context. There was a deeper cultural meaning to the performance. Lizzo was invited by Carla Hayden—both Black women who have succeeded mightily in their professions—to engage a modern audience in an instrument owned by a historically significant man who owned enslaved people. Reflecting on history can put the struggles of the past into perspective. Or to quote Lizzo, “History is freaking cool, you guys!”