(Republicaninformer.com)- In a move that prompted some criticism, for the first time, last week’s Super Bowl featured not just the singing of the National Anthem but also the singing of “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” a nineteenth-century hymn that has been dubbed the Black National Anthem.
The decision prompted swift criticism from many who accused the NFL of attempting to divide the country by presenting two separate national anthems.
In a tweet during the Super Bowl, Colorado Republican Congresswoman Lauren Boebert also slammed the NFL for including the so-called Black National Anthem, accusing the NFL of “trying to divide us.” Boebert said the NFL should just “do football” and “not wokeness.”
During Monday’s broadcast of The Megyn Kelly Show, the host and her guest, former Fox News reporter Rick Leventhal, also criticized the “woke” Super Bowl.
Kelly described the Black National Anthem as “totally divisive,” telling Leventhal that there was no reason to sing it at the Super Bowl. She argued that the National Anthem should unite all of us, adding there is “no point in dividing us by race.”
Kelly also criticized the other “woke” elements from last Sunday’s game, including the use of an all-female military flyover. She also complained about all the leftist celebrities that were featured in the Super Bowl ads.
She accused the NFL of being out of touch with half of the country and said all the NFL does is pander to the left.
The hymn, “Lift Every Voice and Sing” was composed by civil rights leader James Weldon Johnson in 1899 as a hymn of hope and faithfulness. Initially, Johnson sought to write a poem honoring Abraham Lincoln for freeing the slaves but chose instead to compose a hymn. It was first performed in Jacksonville, Florida to honor Lincoln on his birthday, according to the NAACP.
By 1919, the NAACP was referring to “Lift Every Voice and Sing” as the “The Negro National Anthem.”
