Off The Record

Andra Day’s Performance Of The ‘Black National Anthem’ At Super Bowl Took The Internet By Storm

Published on February 13, 2024

While many Super Bowl viewers couldn’t agree on whether Reba’s version of the national anthem was the best ever or needed improvement, many online users thought the same thing about Andra Day’s rendition of the Black national song, “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”

The Black national anthem has been played during the Super Bowl pregame ceremonies for the fourth time.

Sung for the first time in 1900, the song embodies “the solemn yet hopeful appeal for the liberty of Black Americans.”

Adopted by the NAACP, “Lift Every Voice and Sing” was “prominently used as a rallying cry during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s.”

Though criticism of Day’s performance was all over the internet in the days before her appearance, the remarks posted after Day sang her interpretation were far more insightful.

“There’s no such thing as a black national anthem,” Rep. Mike Loychik, a Republican lawmaker, wrote on X. “We are all AMERICANS, united by our great and beautiful Star Spangled Banner. The Super Bowl is supposed to bring us together. “It’s a disgrace that the NFL decided to push the politics of racial division again.”

“The so-called Black National Anthem does not belong at the Super Bowl. We already have a National Anthem and it includes EVERYONE.” Megyn Kelly tweeted.

“Growing up I wasn’t taught that the National Anthem was for white or black people. We were taught that it was for all Americans. A black national anthem isn’t meant to give black Americans a voice, it’s meant to cause more division. We are all American regardless of race and it’s time we start acting like it,” another person wrote.