‘America has ONE national anthem!’ Social media users slam the NFL for including black national anthem ‘Lift Every Voice And Sing’ for the third time in a row at the Super Bowl
- Black national anthem, ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing’, will be sung at the Super Bowl
- It became a ‘black national anthem’ when it was adopted by the NAACP in 1917
News that the ‘black national anthem’ would be sung during the Super Bowl for the third time in a row has caused outrage on social media.
Sheryl Lee Ralph, the star of the comedy series ‘Abbott Elementary,’ announced on Sunday that she would be singing ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing’ during the Super Bowl at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
The song became an unofficial ‘black national anthem’ when it was adopted by the NAACP in 1917. It was first recited 123 years ago, to the day, in 1900.
Its use is controversial and has been criticized for being divisive and failing to unify the country, as a national anthem should.
Others argue that its performance is a positive gesture that addresses the suffering of black Americans making it a step towards healing racial division.
Sheryl Lee Ralph sings ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing’ before Super Bowl LVII on Sunday night
Ralph (pictured), the star of the comedy series ‘Abbott Elementary,’ announced on Sunday that she would be singing ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing’ during the Super Bowl at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona
Colorado Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert said on Twitter: ‘America only has ONE NATIONAL ANTHEM’
Ralph announced that the news she would be performing the song on Twitter. ‘123 years ago today Lift Every Voice and Sing was performed publicly for the 1st time. Today I will sing it for the 1st time as part of the @SuperBowl pre game show in the stadium!’ she wrote on Sunday morning.
The song was sung before both Super Bowl LV and LVI, performed by Alicia Keys in 2021 and Mary Mary in 2022. However Ralph was the first person to have sung the song on the actual field. Both previous performances were broadcast as pre-recorded clips.
On social media reactions to the news the the anthem would be sung for the third year in a row at the Super Bowl were mixed. Colorado Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert said on Twitter: ‘America only has ONE NATIONAL ANTHEM.’
The song was originally a poem written by James Weldon Johnson, a former NAACP leader. Its lyrics describe the struggles and aspirations of black Americans at the turn of the 20th century.
The NFL began playing the song before NFL games in the 2020 season after the protests that came in the wake of the killings at the hands of the police of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.
It happened at roughly the same time that NFL player Colin Kaepernick famously refused to take the knee as The Star-Spangled Banner was sung.
Social media personality Brian Krassentein attacked those who objected to the singing of the anthem. ‘If you have a problem with the Black National Anthem then you are one of the reasons it’s being sung,’ he wrote on Twitter.
Lavern Spicer, who ran as a Republican candidate for election to the House in Florida last year, expressed the idea that there should only be one national anthem for all Americans.
‘The Black National Anthem is the Star Spangled Banner. The White National Anthem is the Star Spangled Banner. The Mixed National Anthem is the Star Spangled Banner,’ she wrote.
Lavern Spicer, who ran as a Republican candidate for election to the House in Florida last year, expressed the idea that there should only be one national anthem for all Americans
