NFL to perform 'Black national anthem' alongside Star-Spangled Banner at Super Bowl 58
LAS VEGAS (TND) — Super Bowl LVIII will feature a performance of Lift Every Voice and Sing, dubbed the "Black national anthem," alongside performances of the Star-Spangled Banner and America the Beautiful, the NFL announcedThursday.
Performing the song will be RnB singer Andra Day, who is best known for her triple-platinum song “Rise Up.” Posting the news on social media, Day shared her excitement at “performing the anthem” at the event.
“Peace & Blessings!!! Performing the Anthem at the SuperBowl yall! Grateful! Thank You God,” Daytold her more than 300,000 X followers.
In 1919, the song was dubbed the “Negro national anthem” by the NAACP and went on to be commonly called the “Black national anthem,” NPR reported. Columbia professor Shana Redmond told the outlet the song aims to fill in gaps in the unifying message of the Star-Spangled Banner.
The National Anthem, 'The Star Spangled Banner,' was missing something — was missing a radical history of inclusion, was missing an investment in radical visions of the future of equality, of parity," she said. "'Lift Every Voice and Sing' became a counterpoint to those types of absences and elisions."The song’s lyrics reference the biblical book of Exodus and invoke themes of escaping from slavery to freedom.
“We have come, over a way that with tears has been watered,We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered.Out from the gloomy past.’Til now we stand at last,Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast,” the lyrics read in part.“Lift Every Voice” rose in popularity in the wake of the Black Lives Matter riots in summer 2020, later becoming a part of NASCAR and NFL events, NBC News reported. Miami University professor Rodney Coates told the outlet he attributed the song’s rise in popularity to “pandering.”
It’s blatant pandering to public sentiment,” Coates said. “It would be a publicity stunt."Others say they find the song divisive. Former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake went viral in 2023 for remaining seated during a performance of the song at Super Bowl LVII, Fox News reported. The move earned support from several Black Republicans, who argued “we have one national anthem, it’s THE national anthem.”
Conservative commentator Benny Johnson in 2023 argued the song should be made “illegal.”
“What a repugnant, degenerate thing to do to separate the national anthem by race,” Johnson said. “Is there a white national anthem? I’m sure not many people would be happy with that being sung.”
The NFL has been mired in racial controversy in recent years as players and coaches use their platform to advocate for their beliefs. Jerod Mayo, the new head coach of the New England Patriots, sparked a flurry of online discourse this week after he discussed racism during his opening press conference.
“I do see color because I believe if you don’t see color, you can’t see racism,” Mayo, the first Black head coach of the team, said.
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