I was in Dallas this weekend with my lovely spouse attending the State Fair of Texas. She got a wild hair on Friday and we headed for Dallas on Saturday morning. Neither of us had been to the State Fair since 1977.
It was much the same and much different after thirty years. One thing I remember was parking. Back then I only paid $2.00 to park. Now it is $10.00. Oh well, inflation happens to everything.
This weekend was also the annual Prairie View A&M versus Grambling football game at the Cotton Bowl. As we walked around the fair, we could hear the PA announcer inside the stadium.
After the National Anthem, the annoucer asked everyone to remain standing for the Black National Anthem. I though WOW!!! I did not know there was such a thing.
After I got home tonight, I googled it and found the following words.
My question is: "Why do blacks, or anyone for that matter, need a separate national anthem for their race?"
What is coming next, the Mexican National Anthem every time the United States National Anthem is palyed?
Below are the words.
Lift every voice and sing, till earth and heaven ring,
Ring with the harmonies of liberty;
Let our rejoicing rise, high as the list’ning skies,
Let is resound loud as the rolling sea.
Sing a song full of the faitht
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 chast’ning 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 paththro’
the blood of the slaughtered,
Out from a 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 hast 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.
14 comments:
Are either of those colleges a historically black college?
Wow, black colleges, black anthems, black television, black beauty pageants....
Feel the hypocrisy!
chanman: Yes, they are both historically black colleges. I sometimes wonder what would happen if we did have historically WHITE colleges, WHITE anthems, WHITE television, WHITE beauty pageants?
Oh gosh....I know what would happen, and I think you do too!
Was just looking for the lyrics of the song to share with some folks here in NZ when I came across this. In fact, Johnson wrote it as a poem in celebration of Lincoln's birthday in the early 1900s. If you read the google sites you found you would have seen that it is not about separatism. It is a beautiful song and the native land referred to in the song is the US. I also like the Star Bangled Banner and sing it but it was written at a time when Blacks were slaves and not citizens so Johnson penned this one that could in fact be the anthem for many different kinds of Americans and if you think about the American Civil War, Blacks fighting for the North and the lyrics of the song, you can actually see the patriotism throughout. The song is not about separatism but rather a brief history of Blacks in the US and a hope for the future and being written for Lincoln's birthday it is also a recognition of his role in the abolishment of slavery. I get emotional singing both and am a very patriotic person of African descent.
Also, just in case you didn't know, historically black colleges and universities were created and endowed by Whites who wanted to train Blacks in vocational work, primarily, and then to train teachers, doctors, etc. to serve the Black community given segregation, and of course to maintain segregation. These schools and their students made and continue to make significant contributions to the Black community and to others and should not be devalued.
These schools today are under the umbrella term of HBCU's b/c they are just that, but many non-Black students attend these schools now and at public HBCU's non-Black students can receive minority scholarships.
nzblack: Thank you for the information. I was unaware of the history of the anthem.
However, I still feel that such things should be left to private gatherings and not played/sung at public events. It does nothing but cause seperation of the races.
So if it is labeled as the "black" National anthem.... who is "we" and/or "our"? This is a beautiful poem, but to label it a national anthem is just an attempt to segregate. America's National Anthem may have been written before slavery was abolished (I wish they truly understood freedom for ALL...but) it was still adopted by the nation. Before you label it a National anthem, get the nation's input first.
Anonymous: To quote Burford T. Justice in the movie "Smokey and the Bandit," "Hold up on that car wash gentlemen!"
I hope you do not think I, "TEXAS TRUTH" feels this is in anyway, shape, or form this song should be considered a National Anthem.
I am against anything that is not 100% All American, for EVERY American, regardless of race, creed, or color.
There is only one National anthem in this country and that is "The Star Spangled Banner." I get upset when some play "American the Beautiful" as the National Anthem.
All this individualism is a bunch of crap!
well u "people" have to deal with it...its something your ancestors created and now u want to blame the victim.Most of the so called historically black colleges were created by whites for blacks because they didnt want blacks to attend thier schools.Alot of these organizations were created by whites such as the naacp...too many things we have today that is all black were created by whites because of racism.They still exist today for pretty much of the same reason.It wasnt that long ago that the civil rights bill was passed and enforced (1968) it will take years and even centuries before this country will be at peace and everyone will be seen as just american.It wont happen in our lifetime.
Anonymous: GET OFF YOUR HIGH HORSE!!! Here is a couple of news flashes for you.
1. I have never owned slaves.
2. I should not be expected to pay for the evils of the past.
3. Things like this “Black National Anthem” cause nothing but MORE racism in this country.
4. Why is it that "So Called Black Leaders" (Jesse Jackson, Quanell X, Louis Farrakhan, Al Sharpton and others) do more to cause racism and problems that they solve.
You need to get out the past and live in the present. You are judged as a person and not your skin color in this day and age.
Since you referred to me as "u people," I guess I can use that term right back at you. "U people" (and I do not mean blacks, I mean people who try to divide instead of unite) need to get a life and get with the program. Your idea is that if something does not suit you, bitch, moan and bellyache until someone will listen to you. That is so much easier (in your book) that doing anything to make our country a better place to live.
PS: Is not it amazing that Barack Obama has done so well in his life. I guess racism hurt his changes to run for President. NOT
It would be cool if you would read each other's comments... with open minds. It's often a challenge to see from another's perspective and history. It's all valid, and invalid... for different reasons. No one is wrong. I see that insults have been thrown around out of frustration. My wish is that you'd have compassion for each other and ultimately laugh at what a paradox this country is. I also see that each of you who has posted is passionate about unity. That in itself is revolutionary, given the history and politics of this nation, past and present.
Anonymous: I think it is wrong to insight division in a country in which you live. These people are racist.
Well...I think everyone is forgetting the fact that when people say America, and when Non-Americans think about America, they're usually thinking about a white male, or white female. There's no need for a white anthem, or anything else you suggested, simply because America is catered towards white people. I also think that it's funny when white people say that black people shouldn't be angry or anything. Black people (as well as any other human in the world) only get angry when things are done to purposely anger them. It's white privilege that makes white people blind and ignorant to issues dealing with black people; simply because they don't have to notice it because it doesn't negatively affect them. If white people aren't willing to understand things from black people's points of view, then they shouldn't get upset about things that they choose not to be affected by. The Black National Anthem isn't dividing anyone. It's uniting black people that feel marginalized in a country that they were forced to build from the ground up. Please read someone else's history other than your own.
Anonymous: Yadda, Yadda, Yadda. Some old retoric. The only color that matters in the world is GREEN. Give it a rest. Slavery ended 150 years ago. Stop trying to beat a dead horse and get with the 21st century.
Wow. I never said anything about slavery. I actually was talking about more contemporary issues. It seems like someone else is using that dead horse as a shield in order to avoid giving an actual response. It's also funny how you block anonymous comments after mine.
Oujo: As far as slavery, everything revolves around salvery when titcomes to something like this. As far as blocking comments, I can choose to have people post however I want. The block did not stop you from posting, so quit your bitching and bellyaching and get with the program. In any case, thnaks for stopping by. At least you visited my blog and read the post.
Post a Comment