Our
gigantic media conglomerates to double down on bad ideas.
Repeating
a controversial move from last year’s Super Bowl (and most recent sports events
since 2020), the NFL announced that they are beginning Super Bowl LVIII with
the so-called “Black National Anthem,” as well as the actual national anthem.
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 “America the Beautiful,” and
singer/actress Andra Day, most famous for playing Billie Holliday in the 2021
biopic “The United States vs. Billie Holiday,” to sing “Lift Every Voice and
Sing.”
Certainly,
individuals on X (formerly Twitter), aren't entirely enthusiastic about its
inclusion in the Super Bowl. User Eli Racks rhetorically questioned, "so
y'all just going to have people stand for 25 minutes," while other users,
such as PolkTheArtist, wondered why "do we need Lift Every Voice and
Sing?"
Admittedly,
the song wasn't randomly chosen for last year's Super Bowl.
Originally
penned in 1900, the song serves as a hymn of gratitude, drawing upon the
narrative of God liberating the Israelites from slavery as recounted in the
Book of Exodus.
Although
not explicitly tied to any specific race, the song has held significant
cultural significance within the black community for generations.
However,
its recent widespread recognition is directly attributed to the George Floyd
protests and the momentum of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020.
It
wasn't until BLM protestors initiated widespread demonstrations that the song
began to be featured in more public forums. Major sports teams and even PBS
started playing the song alongside, or sometimes instead of, the traditional
national anthem.
Now, the song itself is not inherently problematic, and when viewed simply for what it is, it's a beautiful hymn of gratitude, celebrating God's deliverance from the clutches of evil.
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