A controversial pregame performance before the Kansas City Chiefs/Baltimore Ravens game has some NFL fans wanting the league to ban a Christian song from being played at their contests.
A controversial performance
As previously discussed on GH, some fans started an online movement to boycott the league after Tasha Cobbs Leonard sang “Lift Every Voice and Sing” before the Chiefs game on Thursday night.
Thursday night wasn’t the first time the snog has been played before NFL games. Journalist Jemele Hill reminded X Crusaders that the performance of the song typically starts a controversy with a certain part of the league’s fanbase, especially “white people.”
“Lift Every Voice and Sing” is a Christian song
Sevon Sermons Exhibit 050719 Ts 004
As Emmitt G. Price III with Christianity Today points out, “Lift Every Voice and Sing” has a Christian message, and has been played in numerous black churches:
“Lift Every Voice and Sing” is a faith-oriented, inclusive, and pragmatic response to the societal ills [James Weldon] Johnson saw around him. Faced with white supremacy, nationalism, and the proliferation of colonialism, he put to words a theology sung out from the mouths of children, a calling to “lift every voice and sing” and “march on ’til victory is won.”
The song has verses that cry out to the Christian God:
The final verse is a prayer that positions the second verse as a launching point for achieving the aspiration of the first—with divine assistance, of course. “God of our weary years, God of our silent tears,” the song goes, “Thou who hast brought us thus far on the way …”
NFL fans call for Christian song to be banned
Many of the fans in the “Boycott The NFL” movement don’t care about the religious message in “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” The salient point in their movement is that the league should only allow The Star-Spangled Banner to be played because that’s the national anthem.
The boycott movement takes issue that playing the black national anthem seems to create more racial division, and makes the sport more political.
Here are some of the posts from the boycott movement asking for the league to ban a Christian song from being played during pregame performances.
Here we go Going to start injecting race into the NFL And I won’t watch.
There is only 1 national anthem enough is enough.
STOP DIVIDING US.
ONLY 1 ANTHEM.https://t.co/sC15HhOoZ5— NADZ (@Anthonycorrad19) September 5, 2024
NFL needs to ban lip sync for black national anthem and the national anthem and halftime show. Let’s get some singers who can sing.
— TheStoic (@LurkerMy) September 9, 2024
I feel bad for some of the good athletes on nfl, why they can’t tell the NFL commissioner to ban that black song. We are all Americans and bleed the same red blood. There is only 1 one national Anthem in this country and that is the Star spangled banner.
— Julie Trow (@JulieTrow5) September 6, 2024
Not watching the NFL till they stop with the Black National Anthem 💩
— Lady Cornstock (@LadyCornstock) September 8, 2024
Hey @NFL there is only one national anthem. Stop doing the black national anthem. You are the #1 cause of divisiveness and racial tension in culture
— Jdog (@jonnybelugz) September 7, 2024
The NFL continues dividing the country by playing the racist Black anthem before the national anthem. They are encouraging a civil race war which is despicable. Boycott NFL until they stop hating on America.
— Charlie Poudell (@CharliePoudell) September 6, 2024
Performing the black national Anthem ahead of the @NFL game is divisive! Stop this race segregation attempt! Use the National Anthem to bring EVERYONE together. We are the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA regardless of race! #BoycottNFL if they continue this devisive behavior.
— USA-ForMeToo (@UsaForMeToo1) September 6, 2024
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Jean Cadet
These people are hypocrites who think that Black people should only play ball and shut up. They also don’t even know the words in the National Anthem or who the author was. They also don’t know anything about “Lift every voice and sing”. They just know that Black folks like that song and therefore they don’t want anything uplifting for Black Americans.