Denver’s Black National Anthem Mistake

Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily.


Apparently, some jazz singer decided to hijack a political event in Denver and sing the Negro National Anthem instead of, you know, the American one. The one she’d been asked (though for no pay) to sing.

Rene Marie specifically tied her act of supposed civil disobedience to Obama’s upcoming August visit. If she thought he’d be pleased, she was just as wrong as when her tiny brain suggested she ‘go there’ in the first place. What is up with folks like her and Rev. Wright?

Wright was more or less minding his own business before those YouTube clips surfaced and, thankfully, he kept his silence at first. Thankfully, not because he “should” have been supporting Obama, but because there was no way or him to defend himself, and the black prophetic tradition, without affecting the election.

Let’s put the GOP vs. the Dems on trial, not Frederick Douglass vs. Jesse Helms. There’ll be sufficient time after the election to have that much needed discussion about black discontent; it’s not like it’s going away.

Does a black person older than about 20 have a legitimate beef with the powers that be? No doubt. But is Denver’s State of the City address the correct venue and time to address that beef? No. A la Wright, Marie’s just limelight stealing—the hell with the community for which she claims to be speaking.

Bowed heads and raised fists at the 1968 Olympics, neither of these pathetic episodes were.

BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate