Myth #1: Our anthem didn’t exist until BLM - Supporters of anti-Blackness love saying the Black National Anthem came out of the Black Lives Matter protests following the police killing of George Floyd in 2020. But that’s just when white people started hearing it. The NAACP declared “Lift Every Voice and Sing” the “Negro National Anthem” in 1919, 12 whole years before “The Star Spangled Banner” became the U.S. national anthem.
Myth #2: Our anthem isn’t “real” - We don’t need white people’s permission to create things for ourselves. We legitimize and validate our anthem. The Star-Spangled Banner is an anti-Black war song written by Francis Scott Key, a racist enslaver who called Black people “a distinct and inferior race” and only supported our freedom if we were immediately shipped to Africa.
The little-known third verse of the song says, “No refuge could save the hireling & slave/From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave.”
Myth #3: Our anthem is divisive - The Black National Anthem is a song of hope. Its lyrics urge us to stand together and reimagine a liberated future where “victory is won.” The anti-Black people and their policies are what's harmful.
We don't need anyone's permission to create our culture. We decide what's best for us and move accordingly. Everyone else can stay mad.