The "Black National Anthem?"
Listening to one of the political talking heads today, I heard about the NFL's plan to honor black Americans and call attention to the racial strife America is experiencing in recent times by playing what is being called the Black National Anthem (Lift Every Voice and Sing by James Weldon Johnson), followed by the Star Spangled Banner, as coaches and players alike take a knee during the latter. I'm in agreement with the talk show host in his observations that the NFL is essentially walking toward ringing their own death knell if they actually follow through with this plan. Americans as a majority (even as sports deprived as we are due to the Covid-19 situation) still hold value in the American way of life. We still honor our flag and, what it stands for. We Still take pride in our freedoms and the good that has come of our example across the globe. This attempt to portray our country as having been founded in the institution of racism, this false narrative of law enforcement systematically hunting down black American males and taking every opportunity to kill those they find unarmed is not the prevailing belief across America. Too many of us have seen through the propagandists that call themselves the news media to fall prey to this destructive notion. The NFL only serves to alienate their fan base. I think they risk doing so permanently. It isn't difficult to find the truth about crime statistics and, once one does the picture is very clear. Black American males account for a disproportionate amount of crime in America and, despite this fact are less likely to be shot by a white police officer than white police officers are to be shot by them. Add in the fact that white police officers are less likely to shoot a black suspect than even black police officers are and, the whole house of cards the political left has built on this topic crumbles. These truths run counter to the political left's narrative and therefore their political aims to reform the nation into their amorphous utopia. So, they push and push harder their falsehoods, accompanied by the threat of cancellation. Without a convincing argument they stand upon a false moral high ground in order to convict dissenters in the court of public opinion.
Notwithstanding the ridiculousness of the NFL's plan to suicide their monopoly over the Football entertainment industry, what strikes me most is the idea that there is something called the Black National Anthem. I can recall singing this song as a young boy in elementary school. It was never spoken of as the Black National Anthem by those who taught it to me. When did black Americans gather to decide on this "anthem?" Can anyone point to this event in history? Who decided that Lift Every Voice and Sing would be the song to represent…well what exactly is it supposed to represent? The Star Spangled Banner was officially chosen through congressional resolution on March 3rd 1931, to represent the pride we as Americans have in winning our independence from a tyrannical king. Lift every voice and sing however, was intended by James Weldon Johnson to commemorate the abolition of slavery, making the newly freed black residents of this land into American citizens and, to honor the man who accomplished this great feat. Black Americans are AMERICANS! We don't belong to some other nation called Black America. Our story is an uniquely American story. The culture that has arisen from our time on this continent has produced celebrated facets of the American experience. Yet, I hear the political left harp on the idea that we as black Americans have contributed to the building of this nation, while at the same time adopting an idea of separation by laying claim to a separate anthem.
I'm not criticizing the song it's self. In fact I like the song. The days of singing it as a boy has built a fondness for it's melody, and reading the lyrics in my adulthood has given me greater appreciation for it. Even so, how can we stride forward toward unity if we constantly hold to the separatist idea of blacks in America being a nation unto ourselves? It's not as if we are as the Nation of Islam, being separate from all other religions. Most black Americans are Christians as are most white Americans. Most black Americans speak English as our native tongue, as do most white Americans. Miscegenation (as is natural in a pluralistic society) is ubiquitous in America. When Martin Luther King Jr. stood for equality, he demanded equality under the same laws that govern white people. He didn't demand a black government, or a separate land for blacks. No! He stood for integration. He stood in defense of the founding ideals of this great nation. He demanded that those ideals be fully realized and, through peaceful protest won his war against the injustices of the day. Dr. M.L. King Jr. was not a separatist. If black Americans continue to separate ourselves from the rest of America through laying claim to cherry picked aspects of American history, rather than taking pride in the whole of American culture, we'll never fully realize Dr. M.L. King's dream. It's time we embrace our American heritage and honor the last words in the lyrics of James W. Johnson's song.
"May we forever stand,
True to our God,
True to our native land."
