This season, the NFL will perform “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” also known as the Black national anthem, alongside “The Star-Spangled Banner” before every game. Civil rights advocate James Weldon Johnson wrote “Lift Every Voice and Sing” in 1900, and his brother John Rosamond Johnson set it to music in 1905. It was soon adopted as the official anthem of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
The NFL’s latest move follows Commissioner Goodell’s ten-year, $250 million commitment to combat racism and social injustice last June. The NFL featured the Black national anthem before the playing of the Star-Spangled Banner at Super Bowl 55 in February. Both players from the Kansas City Chiefs and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers linked their arms together in solidarity. Once again, end zones will display the slogans “End Racism” and “Inspire Change” beginning in Week 1 of the preseason.
End racism. #ItTakesAllOfUs pic.twitter.com/IU4G626FvQ
— NFL (@NFL) September 10, 2020
The NFL explored implementing the song as early as week one of last season. When the news initially surfaced last June, Jacksonville Jaguars player Chris Conley replied to the league’s early deliberations.
“The league taking the opportunity to play ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing’ (the black national anthem) is sweet. It’s a great way to honor those who started this movement year and years ago,” Conley tweeted.
In 2020, the NFL boosted its commitment to racial justice problems significantly, in response to the Black Lives Matter movement as well as criticism of the league’s handling of peaceful protests such as Colin Kaepernick’s kneeling in previous years.
“We, the National Football League, believe Black lives matter,” said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in a video released last June.
Written by John Galietta | Instagram:@jgalietta17 | Twitter: @jgalietta17