What is the Black national anthem sung before the Super Bowl and why are some criticising it?

Grammy winner Andra Day's passionate rendition of"Lift Every Voice and Sing", popularly known as the Black national anthem, prior toSuper Bowl LVIII kickoff on Sunday (Feb 11)has caused controversy. Although the song received a rousing ovation from fans at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, a section of fans, especially the conservatives on online platforms,remained unimpressed.

The fans took to social media and hurled criticism towards the National Football League (NFL) for having the Black national anthem performed prior to the summit clash. While Day sang the Black national anthem,Reba McEntire sang the national anthem"The Star Spangled Banner"with Post Malone performing "America the Beautiful".

Republican leader Matt Gaetz took to X (formerly known as Twitter) and shared a conversation between him and his wifeabout why they weren’t going to watch the Super Bowl.

"They’re desecrating America’s National Anthem by playing something called the ‘Black National Anthem,’" he wrote.

Rep. Mike Loychik, a Republican Ohio House of Representatives lawmaker, criticised the NFL, saying the Super Bowl was intended to "bring us together".

"There’s no such thing as a black national anthem. We are all AMERICANS, united by our great and beautiful Star Spangled Banner. The Super Bowl is supposed to bring us together,"Loychik wrote on X.

"It’s a disgrace that the NFL decided to push the politics of racial division again," he added.

Notably, Sunday was not the first time thatthe Black national anthem has been played in the league.Kari Lake, a former news anchor and the Republican Party nominee in the 2022 Arizona gubernatorial election refused to stand for the song as it was performed during an NFL game in 2023.

Television personality Megyn Kelly slammed the performance of the song when it was played at the US Open last year.

What is the Black national anthem?

The song "Lift Every Voice and Sing" was penned by former National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) leader James Weldon Johnson as a poem in 1900.

It was first performed by a choir of 500 schoolchildren at the segregated Stanton School, where James Weldon Johnson was principal, to celebrate Abraham Lincoln's birthday.

Afterwards, the song was widely used during the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s and since then, it has become associated with the Black Americans who relate to its lyrics and hopeful appeal for liberty and freedom. It was even sung by crowds following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963.

The NFL started to play the Black national anthem in the 2020 season following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers. Since then, it has been a regular feature at the Super Bowl.

(With inputs from agencies)