https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/20...n-openers/

Wonder if anyone will kneel

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Lift Every Voice And Sing  was originally a poem written by Jacksonville native James Weldon Johnson. 
His brother set it to song and it was much later was adopted by the NAACP as their unofficial anthem. 

Here's some relevant bio on J.W. Johnson:

Early Life and Career
James Weldon Johnson was born in Jacksonville, Florida, on June 17, 1871, the son of a freeborn Virginian father and a Bahamian mother, and was raised without a sense of limitations amid a society focused on segregating African Americans. After graduating from Atlanta University, Johnson was hired as a principal in a grammar school. While serving in this position, in 1895, he founded The Daily American newspaper. In 1897, Johnson became the first African American to pass the bar exam in Florida.
Not long after, in 1900, James and his brother, John, wrote the song "Lift Every Voice and Sing," which would later become the official anthem of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. (The Johnson brothers would go on to write more than 200 songs for the Broadway musical stage.) Johnson then moved to New York and studied literature at Columbia University, where he met other African American artists.

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Here are the lyrics, which you'll find are a hymn of praise and resolution, then turning into a beautiful prayer for divine guidance:


Lift Every Voice and Sing
By James Weldon Johnson

Lift every voice and sing
Till earth and heaven ring,
Ring with the harmonies of Liberty;
Let our rejoicing rise
High as the listening skies,
Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.
Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us,
Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us,
Facing the rising sun of our new day begun
Let us march on till victory is won.

Stony the road we trod,
Bitter the chastening rod,
Felt in the days when hope unborn had died;
Yet with a steady beat,
Have not our weary feet
Come to the place for which our fathers sighed?
We have come over a way that with tears has been watered,
We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered,
Out from the gloomy past,
Till now we stand at last
Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast.
God of our weary years,
God of our silent tears,
Thou who has brought us thus far on the way;
Thou who has by Thy might Led us into the light,
Keep us forever in the path, we pray.
Lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met Thee,
Lest, our hearts drunk with the wine of the world, we forget Thee;
Shadowed beneath Thy hand,
May we forever stand.
True to our God,
True to our native land. 

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I guess only some religious discussion is forbidden here.

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“An empty vessel makes the loudest sound, so they that have the least wit are the greatest babblers.”. - Plato

Will the political forum still exist when the NFL no longer exists? I hope so.

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The lyrics seem to be universal enough that they can apply both to the Colonists shaking off the yoke of English tyranny AND the obvious message of the song, the Emancipation from slavery.  Awesome that the Brothers Johnson hailed from here, and was not aware that that they were prolific songwriters, good to know. Wonder if they wrote Strawberry Letters #1 thru 22?

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"Remember Red, Hope is a good thing. Maybe the best of things. And no good thing ever dies."  - Andy Dufresne, The Shawshank Redemption

I guess only some religious discussion is forbidden here.

NYC was sharing song lyrics.
Not an act of worship, nor apologetics, nor proselytizing.

Good to see this song get more attention.  If they actually play the games I hope they let the James Weldon Johnson Middle School choir sing it here.

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My fellow southpaw Mark Brunell will probably always be my favorite Jaguar.

What the hell is a black national anthem? We are one nation, there is one national anthem. Or are we already conceding that blacks will soon self-segregate to their own nation after the balkanization of the US? This next Civil War will be a wild one.

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I don't see the big deal. We play other stuff before games, like America the Beautiful. If playing this song makes some people happy, then fine with me.

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What the hell is a black national anthem? We are one nation, there is one national anthem. Or are we already conceding that blacks will soon self-segregate to their own nation after the balkanization of the US? This next Civil War will be a wild one.

That's what I thought.  Why are blacks getting a special one?  What happens when someone asks for a "white" national anthem?  How about Native Americans, shouldn't they get their own also (or do they have to go to a FSU game)?

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When you get into the endzone, act like you've been there before.

What the hell is a black national anthem? We are one nation, there is one national anthem. Or are we already conceding that blacks will soon self-segregate to their own nation after the balkanization of the US? This next Civil War will be a wild one.

That's what I thought.  Why are blacks getting a special one?  What happens when someone asks for a "white" national anthem?  How about Native Americans, shouldn't they get their own also (or do they have to go to a FSU game)?

The NFL is trying to make up for Goodell's stupid overreaction to Kaep and others' kneeling. 

African-Americans aren't getting some "special anthem."  
If Native Americans made up 68% of the NFL, they'd probably get a tribute as well when the evening news is constantly plastered w/ bodycam videos of them being needlessly killed or brutalized. 

The NFL is choosing to atone for its sins in the form of a civil rights hymn being sung prior to games. 
I think it's a bit strange and probably not the best way for them to attempt to regain footing from a PR misstep, but it's just a song with a positive message at the end of the day. 

No harm in a song with a positive message where I come from.

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Oh no we are upset about a song?

Cut some more swooshes off your Nike Socks! Hail to the Washington Red Tails!

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What the hell is a black national anthem? We are one nation, there is one national anthem. Or are we already conceding that blacks will soon self-segregate to their own nation after the balkanization of the US? This next Civil War will be a wild one.

It's a figure of speech, dude.
Besides, read the lyrics. The parts about God might make some people feel excluded, but other than that there's nothing specifically "black" about those lyrics. White Americans should be able to relate to most of the lines.

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My fellow southpaw Mark Brunell will probably always be my favorite Jaguar.

It's not that big a deal, other than most of us knowing it's lip service.

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It's a token nod to current events and will only occur during the first week. It's only a big deal if you make it one. 

At least it isn't stupid like this.

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"It's not a big deal"
"it's only a big deal if you make it one"
"African-Americans aren't getting some "special anthem."
If Native Americans made up 68% of the NFL, they'd probably get a tribute as well when the evening news is constantly plastered w/ bodycam videos of them being needlessly killed or brutalized. "

First of all it is a big deal. This is America and there is one national anthem it's for everyone. When the NFL says the black national anthem its implying the star spangled banner isnt for blacks. Plenty of blacks are ticked off at this. That's why the NFL is only doing it for one week because they know what's going to happen.

Second. So when white people make up the majority of a field they are racists for keeping the colored folks down...but when blacks are the majority...well give them tribute. It's already been proven and shown by anyone with even a remote desire to actually learn the truth that blacks are NOT being needlessly killed or brutalized. In fact if you even listen to black leaders talk about it they lump the statistics together with Hispanics. They say "blacks and Hispanics are brutalized by the police at a higher rate than whites"...really? Why have we not seen Hispanics being brutalized? What happened to George Floyd was wrong in my opinion...but how's that any different than what happened to Tony Timpa? Where was the national outrage over that? Remember the whole Michael Brown hands up crap? Where was the outrage over Dillon Taylor who did in fact have his hands up and guess what he didn't assault the officer.

Kinda interesting that a poem was turned into a song and played for the man that BLM has tried to tear down statues of. This is a joke and I don't care if it's a good song...it divides this country many blacks are even coming out saying that same thing. The NFL will end up regretting this.

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"Don't argue with an idiot, people watching may not be able to tell the difference."

Curious if this will be played before a Ryder Cup.

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Black people didn't start this stuff.  White people did it.  White people told black people they weren't as good, they can't use our water fountains or our hotels or our public bathrooms.  We kept them out of certain jobs, we enslaved them, we lynched them, we discriminated against them, kept them out of our sports, kept them out of our schools.  We told them they can only marry other black people.  In short, white people are the ones that made black people separate.   We segregated them from us.  We are the ones at fault.  

And so, 100 years ago, they wrote a song and called it their "national anthem" and apparently some of us, at least in this thread, are upset about it.  Well who started all this stuff anyway?  Who was it that told them they were not the same as us?

I say let's play the damn song and be happy about it.

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Black people didn't start this stuff.  White people did it.  Democrats told black people they weren't as good, they can't use our water fountains or our hotels or our public bathrooms.  Democrats kept them out of certain jobs, lynched them, discriminated against them, and kept them out of our schools. Then, democrats claimed this could only be rectified with their policies like affirmative action, which ruined the competitive balance at universities and created a higher collegiate drop out rate. Structured welfare in a way that decimated the black family and kept them trapped in poverty. Created crime laws that locked up blacks at an unprecedented rate which lead to fatherless homes that created communities with more crime, violence, drop outs and teen pregnancies. Democrats created abortion to kill their babies. Now, democrats tell them they need to have their own anthem. Their own safe spaces. Their own gardens. In short, democrats are the ones that made black people separate. Democrats segregated them from us. Democrats used the voice of suffering black Americans to raise record amounts of money for Joe Biden. We are the ones at fault.  

Fixed this for you. 

That said, still think people are making too much of this song. It's just called the black national anthem as a nickname. It's not actually a black national anthem. And, I am all for it if people would listen to the words and actually apply them to our lives. It's a song of hope. Unfortunately, it's appeasement, and the focus will be on the division it creates, not the message.

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It's not that big a deal, other than most of us knowing it's lip service.

Yeah, lips on backside service.

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“An empty vessel makes the loudest sound, so they that have the least wit are the greatest babblers.”. - Plato

Black people didn't start this stuff.  White people did it.  Democrats told black people they weren't as good, they can't use our water fountains or our hotels or our public bathrooms.  Democrats kept them out of certain jobs, lynched them, discriminated against them, and kept them out of our schools. Then, democrats claimed this could only be rectified with their policies like affirmative action, which ruined the competitive balance at universities and created a higher collegiate drop out rate. Structured welfare in a way that decimated the black family and kept them trapped in poverty. Created crime laws that locked up blacks at an unprecedented rate which lead to fatherless homes that created communities with more crime, violence, drop outs and teen pregnancies. Democrats created abortion to kill their babies. Now, democrats tell them they need to have their own anthem. Their own safe spaces. Their own gardens. In short, democrats are the ones that made black people separate. Democrats segregated them from us. Democrats used the voice of suffering black Americans to raise record amounts of money for Joe Biden. We are the ones at fault.  

Fixed this for you. 

That said, still think people are making too much of this song. It's just called the black national anthem as a nickname. It's not actually a black national anthem. And, I am all for it if people would listen to the words and actually apply them to our lives. It's a song of hope. Unfortunately, it's appeasement, and the focus will be on the division it creates, not the message.

Wow you're a tool.
Even if the edits you gave above were closer to the truth than Marty's original (and they're not) today our choice in November is between the 2020 version of the Democratic Party and the 2020 version of the Republican Party. What each party did generations ago is not relevant to that decision.

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My fellow southpaw Mark Brunell will probably always be my favorite Jaguar.