Andra Day’s “Lift Every Voice And Sing” Performance Has Conservatives In Their Feelings
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Andra Day’s performance of “Lift Every Voice And Sing” ahead of the LVIII Super Bowl left fans roaring in awe of the Golden Globe winner. While there was no doubt that those in attendance at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium appreciated her rendition, many Conservatives online took issue with The Black National Anthem being sung during the big game.
Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz shared a conversation he had with his wife about why their family wouldn’t be watching the San Fran vs. Kansas City match-up, claiming, “They’re desecrating America’s National Anthem by playing something called the ‘Black National Anthem.’”
Wife: Today is the Super Bowl!
Me: We aren’t watching.
Wife: Why?
Me: They’re desecrating America’s National Anthem by playing something called the “Black National Anthem.”
Wife: Does that mean Cardi is performing?Conservative pundit CJ Pearson added to the conversation, “Before tonight’s Super Bowl, as a young black man and proud American, let me make myself clear: There is only ONE national anthem. As there is only ONE United States of America. And it’s for EVERYONE – white, black, yellow, and even maroon. The Left’s agenda of division isn’t just needless; it’s exhausting.”
Republican lawmaker and Ohio House Rep. Mike Loychik challenged the very existence of the 124-year-old hymn, offering via X/Twitter, “There’s no such thing as a black national anthem. We are all AMERICANS, united by our great and beautiful Star Spangled Banner. The Super Bowl is supposed to bring us together. It’s a disgrace that the NFL decided to push the politics of racial division again.”
“No such thing as a ‘Black National Anthem’ The end,” agreed Republican politician Graham Allen.
“Lift Every Voice And Sing” was written by author, educator, lawyer and civil rights activist James Weldon Johnson in 1900 as a poem to commemorate the birthday of Republican (how ironic) President Abraham Lincoln. It soon evolved into a song composed by Johnson’s brother, John Rosamond Johnson. By the 1950s, the song’s lyrics became a reflection of race relations and the struggle for equality in America, leading to it being adopted as the Black National Anthem during the Civil Rights Movement.
Day’s performance of the song marks the fourth ahead of a Super Bowl match-up, as Alicia Keys performed the song in a pre-recorded video before the 2021 bout, followed by gospel duo Mary Mary in 2022 and Sheryl Lee Ralph in 2023.
More from VIBE.com
