Rep. Lauren Boebert appeared to disagree with Sheryl Lee Ralph’s performance of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” at the Feb. 12, 2023 Super Bowl. NFL/Evelyn Hockstein/Portal/Insiders
- Actress Sheryl Lee Ralph performed “Lift Every Voice and Sing” at the Super Bowl on Sunday.
- The anthem is known as the Black National Anthem and was sung along with The Star-Spangled Banner.
- Rep. Lauren Boebert disagreed, suggesting the anthem is divisive.
Rep. Lauren Boebert railed against “Wokeness” after a song known as the Black National Hymn was performed for the first time live and on the field at the Super Bowl on Sunday.
The far-right Colorado lawmaker said in a tweet that the NFL is trying to “divide” the country in an apparent reference to actress Sheryl Lee Ralph’s performance of “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”
“America only has ONE NATIONAL ANTHEM,” she wrote. “Why is the NFL trying to divide us by playing multiple!? Do football, not awakening.”
“Lift Every Voice and Sing” was written as a poem by NAACP leader James Weldon Johnson in 1900 and later used as a rallying cry for black Americans during the civil rights era.
His lyrics call for strength, unity and faith in God after the abolition of slavery.
Although the song has been incorporated into Super Bowl celebrations since 2021, Ralph’s performance on Sunday marked the first live performance of the song on the field at the event.
It came before Chris Stapleton’s rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner.
After Ralph’s performance, the delighted singer posted a video to Twitter, thanking everyone who sang along and emphasizing the song’s call for unity “at a time when we all need to come together.”
“I feel so good,” she said.
Explaining the story and meaning of the song, Ralph also referenced commenters echoing Boebert’s sentiments, saying, “Thank you everyone for understanding. Some never will, but some will always understand. God bless us all in unity.”
Earlier, Ralph said at a press conference that the NFL’s decision to play signals a move to “represent all people,” according to Vulture.
Before the performance, Insider’s Ralph Kirsten Acuna also told that she listened to the song repeatedly in preparation.
Boebert wasn’t the only one who seemed offended.
Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene also complained about “wakeiness” at the Super Bowl, apparently alluding to the decision to record “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”
In 2022, a proposal to make “Lift Every Voice and Sing” the US national anthem — as a parallel to the anthem — was opposed by both Greene and Florida Republican Matt Gaetz.
“I am not a racist!” Greene said on the Gaetz podcast at the time, as reported by Raw Story. But, she said, the move would “undermine the meaning and meaning of our national anthem.”
WATCH NOW: Insider Inc.’s Popular Videos
Loading…