Before 'The Star Spangled Banner' was the national anthem, 'Lift Every Voice and Sing' was the Black national anthem. This year, it turns 125

Ledisi, who is a Grammy Award-winning singer cum songwriter, delivered her rendition of Lift Every Voice and Sing at the Super Bowl today, sparking a frenzy on social media.

James Weldon Johnson initially wrote it as a poem a year earlier, and his brother John Rosamond Johnson composed the music. It would soon be adopted by the NAACP as its official song.Today “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing” is one of the most acclaimed songs of the African American Civil Rights movement and is often hailed as the Black National Anthem.

The MAGA contingent and prominent right-wing commentators were outraged at the inclusion of the Black national anthem at the Super Bowl. Newsweek has reached out to a representative for the NFL outside of regular working hours via email for comment.