Opinion: The Black National Anthem is a Symptom of Division in America

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At the State of the City address in Denver, a local Jazz singer was invited to sing the National Anthem before the Mayor delivered his speech. The singer, Chanteuse René Marie, changed her song to a hybrid of the National Anthem and what is called the "Black National Anthem." Marie claimed that while she was sorry for upsetting people, she was not going to feel bad for artistically expressing herself. It bears in mind to mention that she only told three people of her "surprise."

While I am completely understanding of artistic expression, when you are invited to sing the Star Spangled Banner, that is what you sing. Her "artistic expression" was completely inappropriate and was a slap in the face to not only the 700 people present for the State of the City address, but to all Americans who value the Star Spangled Banner. Many Americans become offended when someone does a remix or a rearrangement of the Star Spangled Banner in an attempt to show off their voice instead of showing respect and love to their country. The selfish motivations are not welcome.

She apologized in one breath, then said she did not regret it in another. I think her apology was completely empty, and her claim it was not for a political agenda feels as barren as her apology. She deliberately did not discuss her actions for fear of being told not to do it. To me that shows a manipulative and even ill conceived intention for her actions.

The song Lift Ev'ry voice and Sing is a beautiful song, and I would hate to think this incident would lead to people becoming edgy when it is heard thinking it is a sign of black bitterness instead of black history. Furthermore, during this time of racial tension in America where white Americans see black Americans as attempting to segregate themselves, her choice was not only inappropriate but it added to a larger problem.

White Americans are being told at every turn that they are inherently racist, and that they are not compassionate enough to the black American population. It seems that recently all Americans have been reminded of just how bitter black Americans are towards the white population. It just seems that no matter how many years whites are separated from slavery or Jim Crow, no matter how much a white American does not care what color another person is, that they are accused of being racist.

The current racial division is once again blamed on any white person that can be found, very few in the black community are addressing something that is evident. Racism in America today is like sex, it takes two to tango.

Blacks have segregated themselves from the rest of America, from women, from Hispanics and other immigrants, from almost anyone. Black Americans have their own culture, their own dialect, their own values, their own winter celebration, their own history, all of which demands to be separated from the rest of America. Denoting a song the Black National Anthem implies that black Americans have their own nation within the borders of America that is separate from everyone.

Women fought hard for suffrage and equal rights for all, but black women were not satisfied to be linked arm in arm with their white sisters. Thus we have Black Feminism, because the white Feminists were "not inclusive enough" when they demanded equality for all.

I was taught that Black Theology was invented to contradict the white interpretation of Christianity back in the days of slavery, but wikipedia has indicated it is an invention of the past two decades. BlackandChristian.com emphasizes that the movement of African Theology started in the 1950's and that the messages of Jesus were used in conjunction to put an end to slavery and oppression as was the calling of the Messiah ( so far so good, what is wrong with that?) Here is where it takes a turn for the worst in the late 1960's early 1970's.

Black (Liberation) Theology symbolizes Jesus Christ as the Black Messiah, Strong Deliverer and Liberator that took upon himself the suffering of all oppressed people and transformed oppression to triumph through his resurrection. Black Theology affirms "blackness" as a theme for Christ through God reveals himself in his blackness and liberating black humanity from the powers of White racism and oppression in America.

If Black Liberation Theology is the only view of the black community, which lets be real it is not but that is what has been seen in the media, it is no wonder that it must be segregated from other forms of Christianity. And make no mistake, Christianity has segregated itself into many sects that do not see eye to eye. That is my point, it is self segregation. I am not sure how Quanza /Kwanzaa fits in to Black Liberation Theology, but it is a relatively new ceremony. It was invented in an attempt to connect black Americans with their African roots.

Info I found on Kwanzaa

Kwanzaa is a holiday invented by Dr. Ron Karenga who originally said that it was meant to be an alternative to Christmas, that "Jesus was psychotic", and that Christianity was a white religion that blacks should shun. However, as Kwanzaa gained mainstream adherents, Karenga altered his position so as not to alienate practicing Christians, then stating in the 1997 Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Family, Community, and Culture, "Kwanzaa was not created to give people an alternative to their own religion or religious holiday."

Black History is a major theme in America. Black History month, every February, is a highlight of the year for the black community where they celebrate their heritage. What could be more beautiful? Honestly I am all for it, except when they start making claims that just aren't true. Then I get a little miffed. For instance, take black inventors being over glorified and their contributions twisted from what they were originally. Fredick Mickenly Jones is one bad ass inventor. That man made modern day life bearable. I mean how many of us can live without Air Conditioners? His technology was the foundation of that invention as well as portable refrigeration in trucks! This man deserved the National Medal of Technology. When you have great men like this as your heritage why do you need to claim anything false? Take Alexander Miles for instance, the black man who "invented the elevator." Aaaah, no, he did not. What he did do was invent a open and closing mechanism for the doors that locked for safety. That is one wonderful accomplishment, but when you look on websites hailing black inventors he is listed as inventing the elevator. Richard Spikes did not invent the automatic gear shift, he improved it. He did, however, invent the automatic light turn signal on a car. Garret A. Morgan did not invent the traffic signal, he invented the automatic aspect. The original traffic signal was invented by an Englishman, J.P. Knight. Charles Brooks improved upon the street sweeper technology, he did not invent it. John Lee Love did not invent the pencil sharpener, he invented the portable version. The list does go on. Yet this is what is taught in our schools during Black History Month, or at the festivals in February. Personally I feel that over amping the contributions takes away the focus of how the black inventors helped society improve into the modern day era as well as making white contributions less important, or even non-existant.

Black Culture is an important aspect of American life. Africans were taken from their original culture and were forced to assimilate to whatever the Europeans dictated to them. Despite losing their heritage they still kept their spirit in the new culture. However, part of America is assimilation and adding who you are to the pot. Black Culture is being hailed as something separate, something that whites could never understand and are not allowed to attempt to look at. Despite that Ebonics ( black dialect and slang) has seeped into American language.

The common theme here is that all of the current perception of black culture comes down to one thing, rejection of what is white in America. It is not about inclusion, or equality, but segregation. That is why when Ms. Marie sang the Black National Anthem, many Americans wondered, aren't blacks Americans? Why do they need a separate National anthem, and where is their nation anyway? Instead of the Black National Anthem, why not call it the Black American Anthem? After all it does represent the unique experience of Africans brought to America and their struggles to fit in.