A song often referred to as the Black national anthem, "Lift Every Voice and Sing," will be performed by local artist Ledisi at Sunday's Super Bowl in New Orleans, the fifth year it has featured in the National Football League championship game.

As the highly anticipated Super Bowl matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles approaches, the event is once again enveloped in controversy. This time, the focus is on the performance of “Lift Every Voice and Sing,

NFL fans are voicing their outrage and calling for a Super Bowl boycott after news broke that “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” known as the “Black national anthem,” will be performed before Sunday’s game in New Orleans.

Trump is reportedly slated to attend, and if he does, he will get to hear the playing of “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” prior to kick. Grammy Award-winning artist, Ledisi, is slated to sing the song, which is often called the Black National Anthem.

Booker T. Washington endorsed “Lift Every Voice and Sing” in 1905, and it became the official song of the NAACP in 1919. The NFL’s Executive Vice President of Football Operations, Troy Vincent, wrote about the song in a 2020 blog on the NFL Operations website:

Super Bowl LIX is just around the corner. Find out which artists will perform before kickoff, including the National Anthem, "America the Beautiful," and "Lift Every Voice and Sing."