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Actress and singer Vanessa Williams hosted "A Capitol Fourth" on PBS where she ended the event singing what is called the Black National Anthem.
The song "Lift Every Voice and Sing," was a hymn written by former NAACP leader James Weldon Johnson in 1900 along with his brother, John Rosamond Johnson. Today, it's known to be the Black National Anthem as it rose to popularity during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s.
You can see her performance here:
Vanessa Williams dedicated the song by saying:
"As I prepare to sing this next song, I am filled with the spirit of freedom and the perseverance that is required to achieve that most precious right."
"I dedicate this to my ancestors, to our new federal holiday, Juneteenth, and to all who celebrate freedom."
It was no secret the Black National Anthem would be sung during the event.
Last Thursday, Williams told Associated Press:
"It's in celebration of the wonderful opportunity that we now have to celebrate Juneteenth. So we are reflective of the times."
"And I'm happy to be apart of a tremendous show where the producers are aware and willing to make the changes that have happen within the last year and a half."
Williams reflected on her history with the PBS event over the years. Just last year she sang the song "Not While I'm Around," from the musical Sweeney Todd.
She chose that song to represent the feelings held by Black mothers after the murder of George Floyd.
"[The song] talked about just the connection that you have with your child and wanting to protect them, which was definitely reflective of George Floyd and how everybody felt that pain."
But conservatives seem to be upset over the choice to sing the Black National Anthem.
THIS IS BAD. Different Races will have their own holidays? Their own Anthems? The new SEGREGATION. Vanessa Williams to sing 'Black national anthem' for Capitol Fourth celebrationhttps://twitter.com/gregkellyusa/status/1411452592459296771\u00a0\u2026— Greg Kelly (@Greg Kelly) 1625352160
"Black National Anthem" the white Democrat that was responsible for slavery & segregation has never wanted blacks to integrate themselves into American society & see themselves as part of the American fabric b/c their political model is based on keeping blacks segregated & angry— Melissa Tate (@Melissa Tate) 1625338393
We have one national anthem\u2026pic.twitter.com/pLFbB28OIJ— Steve Cortes (@Steve Cortes) 1625340551
The public backlash started controversy on Twitter.
How'd you get to your BIG age and not know about "Lift Every Voice and Sing?"\nDid you never go to church, or any Black function?— SPN Drama never ends, it goes on and on my friends (@SPN Drama never ends, it goes on and on my friends) 1625344248
What if somebody told you the song was first a poem in celebration of President Lincoln, and was first called the 'Black National Anthem' in 1919. Would you then want to talk about US history up to, circa 1919, and decades thereafter, to understand the context?— BlackPhysicists (@BlackPhysicists) 1625344212
Your definitions of 'Black' and 'Black African country' seem fascinating. Tell us more.— BlackPhysicists (@BlackPhysicists) 1625344716
It's been called that and sung in America for over 100 yrs and NOW you have a problem with it— geddaqueen (@geddaqueen) 1625339653
Bigots out here mad because their mayonnaise dripping, melanin deficient, culturally incompetent behinds just found out there\u2019s a Black National Anthem, \u2018Lift Every Voice and Sing.\u2019\n\nIt was published in 1905, 116 years ago. \n \nWhite supremacists are so stupid.— Bishop Talbert Swan (@Bishop Talbert Swan) 1625371880
It\u2019s just one of the delicious ironies of life that the Star Spangled Banner, which became the National Anthem because one of our most white nationalist presidents liked his daughter\u2019s recorded version, commemorates the war of 1812 that produced the first sacking of the Capitol.https://twitter.com/jemelehill/status/1411420122216951817\u00a0\u2026— Joy-Ann (Pro-Democracy) Reid \ud83d\ude37 (@Joy-Ann (Pro-Democracy) Reid \ud83d\ude37) 1625355835
Here\u2019s a good history of the National Anthem (which has only been that since Congress ok\u2019d it in 1931, affirming Woodrow Wilson\u2019s 1916 executive order. Of course, the Daughters of the Confederacy make their usual appearance... https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2020/10/18/star-spangled-banner-racist-national-anthem/\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/PUgEIl2kI4— Joy-Ann (Pro-Democracy) Reid \ud83d\ude37 (@Joy-Ann (Pro-Democracy) Reid \ud83d\ude37) 1625355836
Luckily she didn\u2019t have to sing the third stanza\u2026 not sure even Whitney could have fixed that\u2026pic.twitter.com/w4rWz7O6z2— Joy-Ann (Pro-Democracy) Reid \ud83d\ude37 (@Joy-Ann (Pro-Democracy) Reid \ud83d\ude37) 1625355838
I've read this stanza before, but I never put together that the "free" people referenced in the song are contrasted against those who were slaves... as opposed to those who are free from, say, tyranny.\n\nThe song is literally & exclusively a celebration of the non-slave population— Donald Dagenais (@Donald Dagenais) 1625356850
Vanessa Williams has not yet commented on the controversy over the inclusion of the song in this year's event.