Why Some Are Lashing Out at the Super Bowl’s Pregame Ceremony

More than a century after the NAACP adopted “Lift Every Voice and Sing” as the “Black national anthem,” the song has sparked social media-fueled backlash in the lead-up to Sunday’s Super Bowl in New Orleans.

Rep. Lauren Boebert said on X that there’s “ONE NATIONAL ANTHEM.” Another critic called the song, which speaks to resiliency and the prospect of better days for an oppressed people, a “Black supremacy” song. Still another called it “racist and divisive.” Some Black conservatives have also said the song should not be performed at the game, calling it “a desperate Hail Mary to exploitation” and that it “foments racial divides and animosity.”

This will be the fifth consecutive Super Bowl to feature the song in the pregame ceremony, each time seeming to draw disagreement about whether it is appropriate. This year, its performance by Ledisi comes amid increasing rejections of antiracism messaging and diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in many facets of American life, from sports to corporate boardrooms to the federal government.

“The performance of the song should be framed to the public not as a protest song but as a song of Black affirmation, perseverance and inspiration,” said Gerald Early, the pop culture essayist who teaches in the African and African American studies department of Washington University in St. Louis. “It is unfortunate that the song’s performance has become a culture war issue.”

There was a similar outcry last year when Andra Day performed the legendary song before the NFL’s ultimate game. This year, however, the controversy aligns with the first few weeks of Donald Trump’s return to the White House and him signing hundreds of executive orders, some of which aim to dismantle DEI in the federal government and beyond.

Still, having “Lift Every Voice and Sing” performed is not an indictment or remonstration on the league — or a political statement, Early said. “Feelings might be running a bit more strongly on this issue since Donald Trump won the election decisively and he has always been opposed to this sort of thing.”

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Ken Knuckles, a music teacher for more than 25 years in Lithonia, Georgia, described it as a “powerful, inspirational song.” He said he has taught the song countless times to students as young as middle schoolers.

“And they sing it the way it’s supposed to be sung: with pride,” he said. “It’s the words. Words have power and this song is about achievement. The song means the world to people of color. It reflects how long we had to struggle to get where we are now. The song is inspiring and aspiration.”

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