{"id":290781,"date":"2021-07-04T19:03:59","date_gmt":"2021-07-04T16:03:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/pbs-backlash-over-vanessa-williams-black-national-anthem\/"},"modified":"2021-07-04T19:03:59","modified_gmt":"2021-07-04T16:03:59","slug":"pbs-backlash-over-vanessa-williams-black-national-anthem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/pbs-backlash-over-vanessa-williams-black-national-anthem\/","title":{"rendered":"#PBS backlash over Vanessa Williams’ ‘black national anthem’"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#PBS backlash over Vanessa Williams’ ‘black national anthem’<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

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PBS has sparked tense backlash with its decision to have Vanessa Williams perform the \u201cblack national anthem\u201d during its July 4 coverage \u2014 with critics blasting the move as divisive and un-American.<\/p>\n

Williams\u2019 performance on the station\u2019s annual Capitol Fourth program Sunday evening is intended to celebrate the recognition of Juneteenth\u2019s establishment as a federal holiday.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s in celebration of the wonderful opportunity that we now have to celebrate Juneteenth. So we are reflective of the times,\u201d the actress and singer, who was the first black woman to win the Miss America Pageant, told the Associated Press.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are reflective of the times and I\u2019m happ<\/a>y to be part of a tremendous show that the producers are aware and willing to make the changes that have happened within the past year and a half.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her rendition of \u201cLift Every Voice and Sing\u201d will not replace the US national anthem, which will be sung by Grammy-award winner Ren\u00e9e Fleming \u2014 but it has still bitterly divided people on social media<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Vanessa
Vanessa Williams sang \u201cLift Every Voice and Sing.\u201d<\/figcaption>
Getty Images for Capital Concerts<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lavern Spicer, a Republican candidate in Florida\u2019s 24th district, who is black, said the song could divide the country on a day people should be standing together.<\/p>\n

\u201cVanessa honey, a BLACK national anthem is something a Black African Country would have, not a country like America that exists for everyone,\u201d Spicer tweeted<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Author Tim Young echoed Spicer\u2019s concerns, tweeting<\/a>: \u201cNothing will unite us more as a nation than separate but equal national anthems\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

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Vanessa honey, a BLACK national anthem is something a Black African Country would have, not a country like America that exists for everyone \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83e\udd26\ud83c\udffe\u200d\u2640\ufe0f https:\/\/t.co\/ZLt8kZLRSU<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Lavern Spicer (@lavern_spicer) July 3, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t unity\u2026 it\u2019s division,\u201d Young reiterated in a follow-up tweet<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Former Weld County, Colorado deputy district attorney and Trump lawyer, Jenna Ellis, invoked the words of the Pledge of Allegiance to show her frustration. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe are ONE Nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for ALL,\u201d Ellis tweeted<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re witnessing the unraveling of E pluribus unum in real time,\u201d former CIA officer Brian Dean Wright fumed, referencing the traditional motto of the United States, which is Latin for \u201cOut of many, one.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe consequences will be dire,\u201d Dean Wright warned.<\/p>\n

Other social media critics also railed against the decision to perform two anthems.<\/p>\n

\"Vanessa
\u201cTalk about dividing us\u2026\u201d one critic said about the PBS performance.<\/figcaption>
Getty Images for Capital Concert<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t get the memo, we have a new anthem? And what was wrong with our original one?\u201d one Twitter user responded to the announcement.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat? I thought we were ALL Americans?! Now divided by color? What happened to one nation, under God, indivisible? Talk about dividing us\u2026\u201d another said.<\/p>\n

Originally called \u201cLift Every Voice and Sing,\u201d the song was written by NAACP leader James Weldon Johnson in 1900 and was popular among Civil Rights activists in the 1950s and 1960s.<\/p>\n

A Capitol Fourth will air on PBS from 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. EST.<\/p>\n

The 41st airing of the celebration program will also feature Jimmy Buffett, Gladys Knight and Train.\n <\/p><\/div>\n