by Julianne Malveaux, NEWS ANALYSIS
(TriceEdneyWire.com)—African American history was celebrated at this year’s Super Bowl. It was the first time that two Black quarterbacks faced off against each other. John Hurts of the Philadelphia Eagles and Patrick Mahomes played a good game, and the Chiefs won narrowly. The NFL is more than 100 years old. What took so long for it to reach this milestone?
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell trumpeted the historic moment when he gave a press conference on “The State of the League.” When asked why it took so long, he replied, “there are probably a variety of reasons, probably none of them good.” The NFL has a history of virulent racism. According to Dave Zirin, an MSNBC columnist, “only eight Black men have ever quarterbacked in a Superbowl.” And Colin Kaepernick, the courageous African American who took a knee to protest racism, has not yet found a place in the NFL.
The Black National Anthem, rousingly delivered by Sheryl Lee Ralph, was featured live at the Superbowl for the first time. The anthem was written 123 years ago by James Weldon Johnson, an NAACP official, and teacher. It was a family affair, with his brother John Rosamond Johnson composing the music to accompany the song. The Superbowl was, in some ways, a celebration of African American History. But Black folks can’t celebrate our history with others offering resistance and backlash.
The conservative Congresswoman Lauren Boebert twitted, “America only has ONE NATIONAL ANTHEM. Why is the NFL trying to divide us by playing multiple? Do football, not wokeness” Boebert and her sidekick Marjorie Taylor Green shamelessly and thoughtlessly carry the right-wing agenda, operating publicly without a shred of dignity. At the State of the Union Address Feb. 7, Taylor Green, clad in all white, including a white fur collar, should have worn a matching hat (or hood) to make herself clear.
Boebart’s Twitter racism generated nearly…
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