Leave it to our gigantic media conglomerates to double down on bad ideas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Repeating a controversial move from last year\u2019s Super Bowl (and most recent sports events since 2020), the NFL announced that they are beginning Super Bowl LVIII with the so-called \u201cBlack National Anthem,\u201d as well as the actual national anthem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As announced by Adam Schefter, an ESPN reporter and podcast host, on X (formerly Twitter), the NFL has chosen country legend Reba McEntire to sing the national anthem, rapper Post Malone (of all people) to sing \u201cAmerica the Beautiful,\u201d and singer\/actress Andra Day, most famous for playing Billie Holliday in the 2021 biopic \u201cThe United States vs. Billie Holiday,\u201d to sing \u201cLift Every Voice and Sing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Certainly the folks on X (formerly Twitter), aren\u2019t altogether enthused by its inclusion in the Super Bowl. User Eli Racks rhetorically asked \u201cso yall just going to be have people stand for 25 minutes,\u201d while other users, like PolkTheArtist, asked why \u201cdo we need Lift Every Voice and Sing?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Granted, the song was not plucked out of the air last year at the Super Bowl<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n First written in 1900, the song is a hymn of thanksgiving referencing God freeing the Israelites from slavery in the Book of Exodus<\/p>\n\n\n\n While not explicitly referring to a particular race, it has long been an important cultural touchstone for the black community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That said, its newfound ubiquity is a direct result of the George Floyd<\/a> protests and the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It wasn\u2019t until BLM protestors<\/a> started burning down the country that the song migrated to more public arenas, with the major sports teams and even PBS playing the song<\/a> in addition to, or even instead of, the actual national anthem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, there is nothing wrong with the song on its own, and taken at face value, it\u2019s a beautiful hymn of thanksgiving, praising God for rescuing us from the grip of evil.<\/p>\n