Breaking Down the History of the Black National Anthem Ahead of Super Bowl

Some of us have always felt in the pit of our stomach that Francis Scott Key’s “The Star-Spangled Banner” is a tad too, well, American-y. Fortunately, we’ve always had “Lift Every Voice and Sing” — known colloquially as the “Black National Anthem” — as a fallback to acknowledge love for a home that hasn’t historically loved us in return.

Entire books have been written about the history of the Black National Anthem. But as we prepare for Grammy Award-winner Andra Day to bring the house down by performing “Lift Every Voice” alongside country singer Reba McEntire performing “The Star-Spangled Banner” at Super Bowl LVIII on Feb 11, here’s a bit of background on our song.

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