Super Bowl 2023: Black national anthem performed by Sheryl Lee Ralph explained
Ryan King
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For the first time, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” also known as the black national anthem, was performed live on-field during the Super Bowl on Sunday by Sheryl Lee Ralph.
Lee Ralph’s performance of the ballad coincided with Black History Month and the 123-year anniversary of when the hymn was first sung publicly. Sunday’s game also marked the third year the NFL has played the hymn before kickoff, though past performances were not live on the field.
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During the unrest that rocked the nation during the summer of 2020 following the death of George Floyd, the NFL announced that the song would be played before kickoff at all week 1 games along with the national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s decision came against the backdrop of political division over players, led by Colin Kaepernick, kneeling during the national anthem in protest over police brutality.
Conservatives such as former President Donald Trump bristled at the players who kneeled in protest, which they decried as an insult to the nation.
In 2018, the league implemented a new policy mandating that players on the field stand for the national anthem and that players who rejected it should remain in the locker rooms. Teams could be subjected to a fine if players flouted the rule.
This was seen by some activists, such as Kaepernick, as a betrayal. So, the decision to add the black national anthem to the kickoff ritual was widely seen as an overture to disillusioned fans of the league. However, the decision to add the hymn to the mix also rankled some conservatives, who believed that there should only be one national anthem, not different ones for separate races.
“America only has ONE NATIONAL ANTHEM. Why is the NFL trying to divide us by playing multiple!? Do football, not wokeness,” Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) tweeted during the game.
https://twitter.com/laurenboebert/status/1624827803609841666?s=20&t=wnjRMULwXKemKTG9t6lWEw
Former Arizona gubernatorial hopeful Kari Lake also made waves on social media for a photo that purportedly showed her sitting during the black national anthem. She later retweeted a post from a podcaster who disparaged the NFL’s policy of playing the hymn during games.
https://twitter.com/bennyjohnson/status/1624920299534708737?s=20&t=wnjRMULwXKemKTG9t6lWEw
Two years ago marked the first Super Bowl performance of the black national anthem, sung by Alicia Keys in a pre-recorded tribute due to the COVID-19 restrictions at the time. Last year, Mary Mary performed the song outside the stadium in California.
The hymn was composed during the 19th century by civil rights activist James Weldon Johnson as an ode of faithfulness and hope for freedom for black Americans beleaguered by the struggles of the Reconstruction era.
Johnson initially sought to write a poem commemorating former President Abraham Lincoln for his work on emancipation and focused his song on the plights of black Americans, according to the NAACP. The song was first performed publicly in Jacksonville, Florida, to honor Lincoln’s birthday. Johnson became a leader of the NAACP.
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Activists used the song as a rallying cry throughout the civil rights movement as they mobilized to fight against Jim Crow laws, end segregation, and ensure black Americans enjoyed equal treatment under the law, especially in terms of voting rights.
By 1919, the NAACP had dubbed the song the “Negro National Anthem,” roughly 12 years before “The Star Spangled Banner” became the national anthem in 1931, CNN reported.