Soccer Dad

The Other Black National Anthem

An audience in Denver was recently stunned by a surprise exhibition of majestic identity grandeur:

A jazz singer shocked some Denver residents after replacing the words to the national anthem with those of the "Black National Anthem" during the annual State of the City address this week.

Rene Marie was asked to sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" before Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper delivered the annual address on Tuesday. Instead, she sang the lyrics of "Lift Every Voice and Sing" -- a hymn commonly referred to as the "Black National Anthem" -- to the tune of the national anthem, MyFOXColorado.com reported.

Many people were unaware until now of the existence of a Black National Anthem, and fewer still are aware of its rich history. Before the present one achieved universal acceptance a number of different proposed songs were considered candidates. One prospective candidate anthem came so close to being chosen that even now it is known as "The Other Black National Anthem." The alternate BNA has been mostly preserved through oral tradition, so it is only with great difficulty that we obtained the text of the words. So far we have been unable to determine the tune that should accompany the following soaring lyric:

Oh Melanin
Tint of dignity
CNS + EMS = HB
With glowing skin we see thee rise
The true hue-manity
Oh precious neuromelanin
Our thought's enhanced by thee
Oh keep our glorious pigment
Albino-photon-free
Oh Melanin, they raised the bar for thee
Oh Melanin, they raised the bar for thee

Crossposted on Judeopundit

Posted by Judeopundit at July 2, 2008 7:59 PM