Super Bowl LIX Black national anthem performance creates social media frenzy
Ledisi, a Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter, sang "Lift Every Voice and Sing" as part of Super Bowl LIX's pregame festivities.
The New Orleans native sang the song, otherwise known as the Black national anthem, at the Caesars Superdome as fans anticipated the kickoff for the game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles.
She won a Grammy for Best Traditional R&B Performance for the song "Anything for You."
Jon Batiste performed the national anthem and Lauren Daigle performed "America the Beautiful."
The performance of the Black national anthem has been a source of consternation for fans since the NFL decided to inset the song before the Super Bowl to end the 2020 season. Fans were unhappy with it again and made their voices heard on social media.
Andra Day sang the song at Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas.
The NFL started to play the Black national anthem in the 2020 season after the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers. The incident started a wave of actions against racial injustice across the U.S.
The NAACP began to promote "Lift Every Voice and Sing" as the Black national anthem in 1917.
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USA Today
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