'Black National Anthem' Stirs Denver

On July 1, at the Mayor of Denver's annual state of the city address, a local singer named Rene Marie stood before the crowd, eager to hear "The Star Spangled Banner," the US' National Anthem.

Instead, she sang this:



The song, "Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing," is the official African American National Hymn. The singer used the tune from "The Star Spangled Banner."

The singer explained her act: (from The LA Times)

It was, Marie later said of the unpaid gig, an artistic expression of her emotions about being a black American and a decision she made months ago to no longer sing the national anthem. But instead of telling that to the mayor's office beforehand, "I pulled a switcheroonie on them," Marie told the Denver Post.

An event like this beautifully showcases what is so great about America, the freedom to disagree, loud and long and clear. There are many, I'm sure, who will condemn this act as the worst atrocity ever committed against liberty, others will see it as a cheap, distasteful publicity grab, while still others will admire the singer's act of defiance.

What this story immediately stirred in me was a memory from my childhood. I grew up in a predominantly black town, and we used to sing "We Shall Overcome" regularly at school events and such, along with other songs common to these events.

When my family moved to an all-white suburb, I never heard the song again. Early on, I asked someone about it, and I forget the exact reply, but it was something to the effect that it's not a song for white people. Every once in a while, I'll hear a snippet of it over grainy civil rights footage in some documentary.

The thing is, neither of these are "black" songs. There's nothing "black" about the lyrics. But their mere association with black causes has resulted in their segregation from white culture. It is the existence of these two Americas that hinders understanding, and maintains longstanding divisions.

Ever wonder why there is a Black History Month, or Black Entertainment Television, or Blacknews.com? It isn't even that black people are excluded from the rest of the media, and our history books. It is because these fail to deliver the fullness and richness of the black experience in America.

As for Rene Marie, I vote for option b, mostly. There's an element of immediate provocation that's lacking in order to make this a truly meaningful act of protest. On the other hand, she sang it beautifully, and her choice is sure to start many an interesting conversation. For that, I have to give her a thumb's up.

Here is another performance of the song, from the film of the 1972 Wattstax concert, one of the best concert films ever made.