“Lift Every Voice and Sing” will reportedly precede the “Star-Spangled Banner” in the opening week.
When the furor over then-San Francisco 49er backup quarterback Colin Kaepernick refusing to kneel for the ‘Star Spangled Banner’ hit, the National Football League and its owners bowed to public outrage. Now, it’s bending over backwards to support the movement Kaepernick championed.
WaPo (“NFL plans for black national anthem to be played at Week 1 games“):
The NFL is considering allowing players to wear helmet decals or jersey patches this season with the names of victims of systemic racism and police brutality, according to a person familiar with the deliberations.
The league, in its latest step amid the national unrest and protests since the May 25 death of George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis, also plans to have the song “Lift Every Voice and Sing” performed live or played before kickoff at each Week 1 game of the 2020 season, according to the person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the league made no official announcement of its plans.
The song was originally written as a poem and is traditionally known as the black national anthem.
