The Black National Anthem & America's Discomfort

Lift every voice and sing
Till earth and heaven ring,
Ring with the harmonies of Liberty;
Let our rejoicing rise
High as the listening skies,
Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.
Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us,
Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us,
Facing the rising sun of our new day begun
Let us march on till victory is won.

Stony the road we trod,
Bitter the chastening rod,
Felt in the days when hope unborn had died;
Yet with a steady beat,
Have not our weary feet
Come to the place for which our fathers sighed?
We have come over a way that with tears have been watered,
We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered,
Out from the gloomy past,
Till now we stand at last
Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast.

God of our weary years,
God of our silent tears,
Thou who has brought us thus far on the way;
Thou who has by Thy might
Led us into the light,
Keep us forever in the path, we pray.
Lest our feet stray from the places, Our God, where we met Thee;
Lest, our hearts drunk with the wine of the world, we forget Thee;
Shadowed beneath Thy hand,
May we forever stand.
True to our GOD,
True to our native land

James Weldon Johnson (June 17, 1871 - June 26, 1938)

If you haven't heard by now, there are some who are bit upset with Rene Marie, who was introduced by Denver City Council president Michael Hancock to perform the national anthem, says she made a switch to sing the Black National Anthem to the tune of the Star Spangled Banner without informing the mayor's office this past Tuesday.

The interesting thing is that Hancock seemed a bit surprised by the amount and tone of the hate e-mail he received as a result of the artistic decision made by Marie. In all fairness, there is a protocol and Marie broke that protocol.

However, what's with the hate mail? It's interesting, just when there are some who are quick to brag that America has overcome its challenges with racism, we are quickly reminded that we haven't - at least not completely.

Marie is said to have apologized for the confusion, however has not regretted her decision. Sometimes, if you want to know what you look like, you have to look in the mirror. Marie singing of the Black National Anthem to the tune of the Star Spangled Banner held up a mirror to America and it unfortunately brought out some of the worst among us.

On a creative level, I think is was an idea of creative and artist genius to merge the lyrics of the Black National Anthem to the Star Spangled Banner. While I believe Marie could have been a bit more mindful of how she went about sharing her creativity, hate mail was definitely not warranted.

The reality is that America needs to realize that just because it is on the verge of electing its first Black President doesn't mean that everything from an African American point of reference will no longer be relevant - on the contrary it will be even more relevant than ever because maybe - just maybe - America can begin receiving a more full education of its complete history instead of the watered down versions that fail to tell the whole story as it pertains to our evolution as a nation.

Look at the words of the Black National Anthem. There is nothing about it that is un-American or unpatriotic. Look at your negative reaction - if you have one. It might speak more to your own insecurity and fears of loss.

Let go. Embrace the beauty of our cultural diversity as the world's foremost melting pot. As a result, we can actually be the best nation we could ever think about becoming.

Hate and ignorance is never a valuable use for targeted emotions.