NFL fans show the proper disdain for the so-called ‘Black National Anthem’
That the NFL went all-in for Black Lives Matter makes sense, given that almost 60% of pro football players are black. It even went all-in for playing “Lift Every Voice and Sing” before games, including yesterday’s Super Bowl. It’s a lovely hymn in its own right, but there’s a problem: It’s billed as “the Black National Anthem.” That’s why Rep. Steve Cohen, an uber-woke House member from Memphis, later tweeted out his disappointment that Super Bowl fans insisted on there being only one National Anthem. Tweeters soon set him straight.
The Star-Spangled Banner is America’s national anthem. This isn’t a traditional position. This is per American law, passed in 1931 and codified at 36 U.S.C. § 301(a). There is one United States of America and one legal national anthem, which applies to all people regardless of race, creed, sex, etc.. Long ago, America’s sports teams began the tradition of playing the anthem before games began.
Image: Truman and other dignitaries saluting the flag at Griffith Stadium, 1952. Public domain.
Per the statute, when the flag is displayed, and the anthem is sung, people in attendance at the event
should face the flag and stand at attention with their right hand over the heart, and men not in uniform, if applicable, should remove their headdress with their right hand and hold it at the left shoulder, the hand being over the heart...
Although the law is never enforced, Americans who are not leftists voluntarily abide by it. They don’t salute kings or queens; they salute America’s symbol and the song that celebrates it.
But then there’s that hymn. As I said, it’s a very nice hymn celebrating God and liberty, and the melody is lovely. It is an essentially American song.
The problem is how the left is using it. By focusing on its title as “the Black National Anthem,” leftists are essentially saying that Black Americans are a nation within a nation. There is, of course, no such thing. Even playing it at the Super Bowl right before the National Anthem itself isn’t going to make it an actual national anthem. Instead, it just takes a beautiful piece of music and makes it divisive.
To give you a sense of that divisiveness, you only need to look at the tweet from Rep. Steve Cohen, who was elected out of Memphis, Tennessee. Memphis, like the NFL itself, has a population that’s around 60% black. That population may explain why Cohen saw fit to pander at an almost unimaginable level:
Very very few stood at Super Bowl for “Lift Every Voice and Sing”.
— Steve Cohen (@RepCohen) February 11, 2024
The Negro National Anthem.
Not a pretty picture of Super Bowl crowd.,
Think of it: A sitting U.S. Congressman is pretending that all Americans should stand for “Lift Every Voice and Sing” as if there were, in fact, a black nation separate from but existing within America and as if Congress had passed legislation identifying the song as the anthem for that imaginary nation, entitled to the honors accorded the “Star-Spangled Banner.” Tweeters swiftly set him right:
It’s not a national anthem. You’d think someone in government would know that
— Dr Strangetweet Or How I Learned To Love The RT (@lone_rides) February 12, 2024
There is only one national anthem and that ain’t it, chief.
— Tesla_FTW рџ‡єрџ‡ё (@Seattle_RT) February 11, 2024
Steve, do you remember when you tried to join the Congressional Black Caucus and they wouldn’t stand for you? pic.twitter.com/PqJBDq7Jqa
— Frank DeScushin (@FrankDeScushin) February 12, 2024
It's utterly racist & divisive to promote different national anthems for different races.
— Geoffrey Miller (@primalpoly) February 12, 2024
I have nothing more to add.