Black National Anthem Singer Disgraces Denver
Jul 2, 2008 Opinion
Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper got a little more than bargained for when he prepared to deliver his State of the City address. A black lady named Rene Marie was asked to sing the National Anthem prior to the address and after she was introduced she began to sing.
What came out of her mouth was not the United States National Anthem, The Star Spangled Banner; No, instead she sang a song called “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing” which is known as the Black National Anthem. The National Anthem was never sung.
Marie decided to sing that song instead of the one she was asked to sing and instead of asking to do so she kept her plan secret so no one would stop her. There was every expectation that she would sing the National Anthem and people were quite surprised by what she did so it is reasonable to assume this was in no way sanctioned.
Marie explained her act by stating:
“When I decided to sing my version, what was going on in my head was: I want to express how I feel about living in the United States, as a black woman, as a black person,” 9News
Of course, no one asked her to sing a song about how she felt and the meeting was not about her. By doing what she did, she split this country even more. She ignored our Nation’s anthem in favor of one that represents only a portion of our nation and pushed her views, the views of a black woman, on every person present. Imagine what would happen if a white person was asked to sing the National Anthem at the NAACP national meeting (I know, but imagine anyway) and instead sang a song that is viewed as a song about white people. There would be an uproar about it and no one would give a spit about what the singer’s feelings were. We would probably get Sharpton and Jackson ranting on TV.
There is a time and a place for everything and this was not the time or place to sing that song. She knew what she was doing was wrong and she knew it would spark controversy. She was so self centered that she didn’t think about the impact of her actions.
Rene, there is but one America even though people like you and John Edwards try to force this two Americas idea on us. We are one Nation under God and we have but one National Anthem and that anthem is color blind.
I would imagine that people will think twice before inviting her to sing the National Anthem. Imagine if she did this at a baseball or football game…
Tags: black national anthem, racism, rene marie, stupidity