The NFL’s pre-Super Bowl festivities will include a rendition of the Black national anthem for the third consecutive year. Even as the league had “Lift Every Voice and Sing” on the docket for weeks, the inclusion of the song stirred debate on social media.
Sheryl Lee Ralph, the star of the comedy series “Abbott Elementary,” will perform the song at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
Country music star Chris Stapleton will sing the national anthem and R&B artist Babyface will sing “America the Beautiful.”
But it was the inclusion of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” that had NFL fans talking early Sunday.
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! pic.twitter.com/Mh805zQbX5
— sheryl lee ralph (@thesherylralph) February 12, 2023
America only has ONE NATIONAL ANTHEM.
Why is the NFL trying to divide us by playing multiple!?
Do football, not wokeness.
— Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) February 12, 2023
Hey, @laurenboebert, sing along!
“Lift every voice and sing
Till earth and heaven ring,
Ring with the harmonies of Liberty;
Let our rejoicing rise
High as the listening skies,
Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.” https://t.co/eAJzBIjnYj— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) February 12, 2023
“Black National Anthem” is an oxymoron. We are ONE nation under God. If you think otherwise, you’re in support of segregation. It’s that simple.
— Xaviaer DuRousseau (@XAVIAERD) February 12, 2023
The @NFL is making a huge mistake, in my humble opinion, by having "Lift Every Voice and Sing," what has traditionally been referred to as the "black national anthem," sung at the #SuperBowl. What more divisive message could be sent than to suggest we're a nation of two anthems.
— Darrell B. Harrison (@D_B_Harrison) February 9, 2023
If you have a problem with the Black National Anthem then you are one of the reasons it's being sung.
I thought you guys already banned the Super Bowl over kneeling players years ago. This shouldn't be a problem then, should it?
If this video pisses you off, then good! pic.twitter.com/vwHRLpsumU
— Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) February 12, 2023
I feel about the Black National Anthem being sung at the #SuperBowl the way I do about #Juneteenth being a federal holiday. That being said, @thesherylralph is going to sing her face off and I love it because I love her. #twothingscanbetrue!
— Karen Hunter (@karenhunter) February 12, 2023
The @NFL is going to play a black national anthem before the Super Bowl. Seems racist and divisive.
— Kevin Sorbo (@ksorbs) February 12, 2023
“Lift Every Voice and Sing” was played before Super Bowl LV and the draft in April 2021. Mary Mary sang it ahead of last year’s Super Bowl between the Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals.
The NFL started to play the Black national anthem in the 2020 season following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers. The incident started a wave of actions against racial injustice across the U.S.
“Lift Every Voice and Sing” is widely considered to be the Black national anthem. The NAACP began to promote it as such in 1917.
