Ahead of Sunday night’s Super Bowl LVIII matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers, the pregame ceremony included the traditional performance of The Star-Spangled Banner, but it also included a performance of a much more controversial song – Lift Every Voice and Sing.
The song, which was written back in 1900 and is featured in 42 different Christian hymnals, has become known as The Black National Anthem and has been embraced by the Black community since it was written as it makes an allusion to the biblical Exodus from slavery to the freedom of the “promised land.”
But not everyone was happy as conservative politicians and pundits expressed their outrage at the song on social media.
Rep. Matt Gaetz – a Republican from Florida – said that the NFL is “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?
— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) February 11, 2024
Rep. Mike Loychik, a Republican lawmaker in the Ohio House of Representatives, also called out the NFL for the performance.
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.
— Rep. Mike Loychik (@MikeLoychik) February 11, 2024
“There’s no such thing as a black national anthem,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “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.”
Conservative political pundit CJ Pearson also called out the performance.
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… pic.twitter.com/uIYzYb3dua
— CJ Pearson (@thecjpearson) February 11, 2024
“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,” he said in a post.
Conservative political commentator Megyn Kelly was also outraged at the song.
The so-called Black National Anthem does not belong at the Super Bowl. We already have a National Anthem and it includes EVERYONE.
— Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) February 11, 2024
“The so-called Black National Anthem does not belong at the Super Bowl. We already have a National Anthem and it includes EVERYONE,” Kelly wrote.
It’s clear that conservatives were not happy about the performance.
