If you ask me its a lot better than the regular anthem!” Others, siding with Obama and Hancock, objected: “This is ridiculous! There is NO substitute for the national anthem and what this woman did was rude and in poor taste. It might speak more to your own insecurity and fears of loss.” Another blogger opined: “I’m a 23 yr old black man and I can rember singing the negro anthem as well. Look at your negative reaction – if you have one. There is nothing about it that is un-American or unpatriotic. As one blogger wrote: “Look at the words of the Black National Anthem. That is not what she was asked to do." But other blacks defended the singer's decision. "As an African American," he told the press, "I can tell you it was inappropriate for her to sing it. It is an important song and is sacred to me. It says something about our heritage, the history of African Americans, and to the pain and the triumphs and opportunities and challenges in our country. I grew up knowing that song, singing it at African American events, MLK marade, NAACP events. The Negro National Anthem is very sacred to African Americans. While most in the audience apparently did not catch the significance of the switch, Denver City Council President Michael Hancock, an African-American, did: Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic Party leader who was expecting to be nominated in Denver the following month, told reporters she should have stuck to the "Star-Spangled Banner." The mayor of Denver, who was presiding, had expected her to perform the national anthem, not the black national anthem. He’s black.”ĭuring the 2008 campaign the Anthem was briefly the subject of news stories when jazz performer Rene Marie opened a Denver public event by singing the words of the old song to the tune of the "Star-Spangled Banner." Officials were taken aback.
![racist american national anthem lyrics racist american national anthem lyrics](https://img.apmcdn.org/9a1495a517552da7426cd324baa7270b002e5746/square/dbba96-20160301-key.jpg)
![racist american national anthem lyrics racist american national anthem lyrics](https://www.dictionary.com/e/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/20210301_starSpangledBanner_1000x700.jpg)
Oh, I guess it is impossible for the ‘reverend’ to be racist…. As one critic wrote: “Here we go again, another black ‘reverend’ living in the past, sowing seeds of racism with his reference to ‘when the white will do what is right’… Another glittering display of no class from a leftist. Lowery's virtual recitation of the Anthem won darts as well as laurels. True to our God, true to our native land. Thou, who has brought us thus far along the way, When Lowery made his way to the microphone with all the cameras rolling, he began the benediction with a stanza verbatim from “Lift Every Voice and Sing”: While “Lift Every Voice and Sing” was even sung by the Morgan State University Choir on the Baltimore stage of Obama’s highly-publicized pre-Inauguration train trip, it was not largely discussed in the mainstream media in the days leading up to Inauguration Day.
![racist american national anthem lyrics racist american national anthem lyrics](https://www.procon.org/wp-content/uploads/star-spangled-banner.jpg)
Yet, many Americans failed to make the connection initially on Inauguration Day. Some supporters have used it in public support of the man who now is in history books as the first African-American President of the United States. “Lift Every Voice and Sing” was heard on the Obama campaign trails as far back as early 2008. The song soon was heard in largely African-American churches and gatherings across the nation. Johnson served as the NAACP’s executive secretary for a decade as well. A writer during the Black Renaissance, he was the first African-American to pass the bar exam in the state of Florida. Rosamond Johnson in 1900 to “ commemorate President Abraham Lincoln’s birthday” and “ to commemorate President Lincoln’s action freeing slaves.” One of its songwriters, James Weldon Johnson, was a prominent intellectual and trailblazer.
![racist american national anthem lyrics racist american national anthem lyrics](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/02/e3/50/02e350532ce707ba683c3689d0152cd7--national-anthem-lyrics-star-spangled-banner-lyrics.jpg)
“ Lift Every Voice and Sing,” as it is formally known, was penned by James Weldon Johnson and J. The Negro National Anthem (aka: Black National Anthem) has deep roots in American history. Some writers like Jill Nelson criticized the vastly-white media for failing instantly to realize, acknowledge, and appreciate the allusion. To a large portion of the audience, the significance of the allusion was lost. Joseph Lowery paraphrased and in places recited the lyrics of an African-American folk song informally known as the “Negro National Anthem” in his benediction at President Obama’s inauguration.