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NBA Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas criticized the NFL’s decision to play the Black national anthem before the 2021 season-opening and radio host Jason Whitlock told "Fox & Friends Weekend" that he agrees there’s a conversation to be had. Whitlock spoke with Thomas in an interview Thursday, as part of the "Fearless with Jason Whitlock" podcast, where the former basketball star suggested that playing both national anthems is only dividing the country instead of unifying it. "He was pointing out the obvious that I think we all agree on," Whitlock said. "You can’t have two national anthems if you want...

American actress and singer Vanessa Williams will perform the song “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” which has become known as the “black national anthem,” at the annual A Capitol Fourth televised celebration. Williams told the Associated Press that she will be honoring both the nation’s independence day and Juneteenth, which recognizes the anniversary of the liberation of the last slaves in the United States, at the show. “It’s in celebration of the wonderful opportunity that we now have to celebrate Juneteenth. So we are reflective of the times,” she said. President Biden recently signed a law designating Juneteenth as a...

The NFL will reportedly play “Lift Ev’ry Voice And Sing,” which is also known as the black national anthem, before every Week 1 NFL game in the 2020 season, according to ESPN. The decision to play the song comes following the death of Minneapolis man George Floyd, which led to nationwide protests over racial inequality and police brutality. According to the ESPN report, the song will be played before “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing” will be performed live or played before “The Star-Spangled Banner” prior to each NFL game during Week 1 and the league is considering putting names of victims of police brutality on helmet decals or jersey patches, a person familiar with the discussions told The Associated Press.

A singer who was to perform the "Star Spangled Banner" at the presentation of Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper's State of the City address yesterday substituted the "Black National Anthem" without notifying anyone, because she says as a black, she just doesn't feel American. "I pulled a switcheroonie on them," Rene Marie said in a report in the Denver Post. In a video of the event, Marie had been introduced by city council president Michael Hancock, who said she would sing the national anthem. Instead, she sang "Lift Every Voice and Sing," also known as the "Black National Anthem," to the...