Black National Anthem at Super Bowl Stirs Controversy
The NFL’s pre-Super Bowl festivities over the weekend included a performance of a song known colloquially as the “Black National Anthem,” stirring controversy and debate on social media and beyond.
Actress Sheryl Lee Ralph performed “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” unofficially known as the Black National Anthem, ahead of Sunday night’s Super Bowl game at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
The song, written by NAACP leader James Weldon John in 1900, served as a rallying cry for black Americans during the civil rights era.
Ralph teased the performance in a post on Instagram before stepping onto the field….