The NFL has announced that the pregame entertainment for Super Bowl LVIII will include the performance of a song known colloquially as the “Black National Anthem,” drawing mixed reactions and stirring debate on social media and beyond.
Grammy-winning R&B singer Andra Day will perform “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” unofficially known as the “Black National Anthem,” ahead of the Super Bowl game at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Feb. 11, the NFL said in a Jan. 18 announcement.
The song, written by NAACP leader James Weldon Johnson in 1900, served as a rallying cry for black Americans during the civil rights era.
Ms. Day took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to post her reaction to the NFL’s announcement.
“Peace & Blessings!!! Performing the Anthem at the SuperBowl yall! Grateful! Thank You God,” she wrote.
While Ms. Day’s reaction to the NFL’s announcement was understandably positive, reactions on X to the NFL’s post were mixed.
Reactions
Some reactions online to news that Ms. Day would be singing the “Black National Anthem” at the Super Bowl were positive, with some people praising the lineup.
“That’s a good lineup! Love it,” one user commented in a post on X.
Country music legend Reba McEntire will perform the national anthem at the pre-game show, while musician Post Malone will deliver a rendition of “America the Beautiful.”
There were plenty of negative reactions to the NFL’s decision to include “Lift Every Voice and Sing” at the pre-game show, however.
Some people suggested it sows division because there already is a national anthem for everyone.
“No need for a separate national anthem for the black community,” one user wrote. “Don’t need a ‘black’ national anthem and an ‘everyone else’ national anthem. Our national anthem is called that for a reason—it’s for all Americans.”
Another user said they found “Lift Every Voice and Sing” a “beautiful song” but added they would rather have no anthem at all performed at the Super Bowl “than two divided on race.”
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For her part, Ms. McEntire said she was honored to be picked to perform “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
“I’m honored to be part of something as big and historic as the Super Bowl coming to Las Vegas for the first time,” Ms. McEntire said in a press statement.
“2024 marks 50 years since I was discovered singing the National Anthem at the National Finals Rodeo, and I can’t think of a better way to celebrate that anniversary,” she added.
Emmy-winning musical director and producer Adam Blackstone will produce and arrange both “Lift Every Voice and Sing” and “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
Meanwhile, at last year’s Super Bowl in Glendale, Arizona, the performance of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” stirred controversy both online and off, with then-Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake making headlines by refusing to stand during the performance.
Photos posted on social media showed Ms. Lake remaining seated for the “Black National Anthem” at last year’s game.
Her campaign’s X account, Kari Lake War Room, explained in a post: “Our girl is against the idea of a ‘black National Anthem’ for the same reason she’s against a ‘white National Anthem,’” namely that “she subscribes to the idea of ‘one Nation, under God.’”
Actress Sheryl Lee Ralph performed “Lift Every Voice and Sing” at the 2023 Super Bowl game at State Farm Stadium in Glendale.
Ms. Ralph’s rendition was the first performance of the song live on-field during the Super Bowl.
At the time, Ms. Ralph told ET that she was thrilled to be picked to sing the song, saying that it sent a political message.
“I thought what a wonderful honor it is for me to be here singing this song inside the arena with the NFL, making a huge gesture for diversity, inclusion, and the end of so many of these isms that people want to keep alive to divide us,” she told the media outlet.
Then, as now, there were mixed reactions to the NFL’s decision to include the song in the lineup.
From The Epoch Times
