OAN’s Elizabeth Bolbelding
5:50 PM – Monday, February 12, 2024
Representative Steve Cohen, D-Tennessee, expressed frustration with the crowd who did not stand during the Black national anthem at Super Bowl III.
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On Sunday afternoon, Rep. Cohen (D-Tenn.) expressed his anger on Twitter. He wrote that “very few” people in the Super Bowl crowd supported the Black national anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” when it was played during the game. .
Andra Day performed the song during Sunday’s Super Bowl, drawing lots of applause from the crowd. The song, which has been performed at the past four playoff games, was also performed at this year’s Super Bowl, featuring Day, who is known as an R&B singer.
Civil rights activist James Weldon Johnson composed the Negro National Anthem in the late 1919s.th Century as an ode to African American faith and freedom.
Representing Tennessee’s predominantly black 9th Congressman Cohen, who is Jewish, is in the House of Representatives district. He is the only Democrat in the state’s congressional delegation.
“Very few people stood at the Super Bowl for ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing’ for the Black National Anthem. The Super Bowl crowd image is not very good,” Cohen told X.
Later, when a user criticized the use of two different national anthems, Cohen responded with another statement regarding X.
“I support both positions. And in Memphis, most people do,” Cohen replied to the X user.
“I respect the national anthem and respect it as representing our country and national pride. But when you look at the history and some of the language, it’s connected to slavery and it makes me question it. ” he later wrote.
Conservative X’s arguments continued to pile up, expressing disapproval not only of the performance but also of the existence of the national anthem.
“There is no such thing as a ‘black national anthem,'” one X account wrote. “If you have a problem with the American national anthem, please feel free to leave.”
Another user said, “There is no such thing as a ‘black national anthem.'” end. “
The NFL has played the national anthem at other games, but the first time it was played was at last year’s Super Bowl.
Player protests over kneeling during the official U.S. national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner,” have long plagued the NFL. In 2018, the NFL banned players from kneeling during the national anthem and ordered them to stay in the locker room if they had any concerns.
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