The "Black National Anthem" Will Be Performed At Super Bowl LVIII

Social media has been divided following the announcement that “Lift Every Voice and Sing” will be performed by Andra Day to open up Super Bowl LVIII. The spiritual track is widely known as the “Black National Anthem” and has brought excitement from some but has also caused frustration from others on Twitter.

One commenter said, “All participants should kneel during the ‘Black National Anthem.’ There is only one national anthem, for everyone, of every color and creed.” Another sports fan stated, “That’s disgusting. The NFL should be ashamed for advocating for two Americas. There is no ‘Black National Anthem’ because there is no Black nation.”

A fan in support of the popular song’s inclusion said, “Friendly reminder, since the snowflakes have it trending again, that ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing’ has been colloquially known as the ‘Black National Anthem’ since 1917, and ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ was adopted as the official U.S. national anthem 14 years later, in 1931.”

Andra Day told CBS News that this was an opportunity for everyone to “share in a really, really beautiful, spiritual moment together.” While the NFL has been known for its mishandling of conversations surrounding race and protest over the years, it seems that including “Lift Every Voice and Sing” is a step towards mending those relationships.

In other discourse about Super Bowl LVIII performances, there is mainly positive energy about Usher’s highly anticipated halftime show. On the popular sportsbook DraftKings, fans can bet on what song will be performed first, with “OMG” having the lowest odds at +250 and +2500 with “Let It Burn” coming in with the highest odds. When The Shade Room posed the question, one fan said, “He need to leave ‘OMG’ out! I hate that s**t so much.” Another user shared, “Baby, you got to remember who the target audience is for the Super Bowl…. It’s either ‘Yeah!’ or ‘DJ Got Us Fallin’ In Love.'”