Woman sings "Black National Anthem" at State of City address

[SoUncool]

Singer decides on her own to sing "Star Spangled Banner" with words from another song. There is video in the link below.

http://cw2.trb.com/news/kwgn-state-o...,2520287.story


Rene Marie

DENVER - The State of the City address Tuesday started with all the traditional hallmarks of a civic function.

The Pledge of Allegiance, the presentation of the colors.

And then Rene Marie was introduced to sign the national anthem.

Instead of the "Star-Spangled Banner,", the crowd heard "Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing," sometimes called the "Black National Anthem," first sung as a celebration of Abraham Lincoln's birthday 108-years ago.

Marie sang the lyrics to the tune of the "Star-Spangled Banner."

Mayor John Hickenlooper says, at first, he was offended.

"We were as surprised as anyone and she didn't tell anyone, she made this decision with her husband, her musical mentor and decided just to do an artistic expression and she kind of wove the two songs together," he said.

Marie says she meant no disrespect and wasn't trying to make a political statement.

"I decided to sing my version. What was going on in my head was, I wanted to express how I feel about living in the United States as a black woman." She went on to say she "wouldn't change a thing" about the performance.

Hickenlooper said she did apologize for making the change.

But still, the choice set-off a firestorm of controversy and criticism. Councilman Charlie Brown said the address was "not an NAACP convention."

Nationally-syndicated conservative writer Michelle Malkin called it "racial separatism at an official government gathering."

That frustrates the mayor, because now the focus is on the song and not his vision for the city for the future.

"You know, in retrospect, as bad as my voice is, I probably should have sang the 'Star Spangled Banner' myself."

[Unamused Cat]

I am unamused. It is bad enough when these singers caterwaul the Star Spangled Banner, but to change the words is offensive. Bah...

[michelle]

I am all for freedom, freedom of choice, speech etc...
When a group hires you whether paid or not to perform a specific service and you pull off your own agenda thats just wrong.
You blindside people, you almost lie to them. Sounds like a big publicity stunt to me.

[WryBread]

http://www.denverpost.com/commented/...urce=commented

She wasn't paid, but it was an honor to be asked (IMO) and the publicity of her performance would have been something. She decided to amp the publicity a bit, it seems, to put herself and her immaturity center stage. This was a ceremony to honor workers and she made it a showcase for her career. If she "no longer sings the national anthem, she should have bowed out of the situation, not pulled a "switcheroonie."

"Subbed anthem lyrics draw some red glares"

(here are a few paragraphs from the article)

Marie said she made the change without informing the mayor's office, which had expected her to sing "The Star-Spangled Banner."

"I pulled a switcheroonie on them," Marie said later.

She explained that she decided months ago to switch the lyrics because she will no longer sing the national anthem.

She said that she made the decision after a Russian broadcaster interviewed her and asked her what it was like to be an American.

At that moment, she said, she realized that as an African-American she at times feels like a foreigner in her home country.

[michelle]

http://www.denverpost.com/commented/...urce=commented

She wasn't paid, but it was an honor to be asked (IMO) and the publicity of her performance would have been something. She decided to amp the publicity a bit, it seems, to put herself and her immaturity center stage. This was a ceremony to honor workers and she made it a showcase for her career. If she "no longer sings the national anthem, she should have bowed out of the situation, not pulled a "switcheroonie."

"Subbed anthem lyrics draw some red glares"

(here are a few paragraphs from the article)

Marie said she made the change without informing the mayor's office, which had expected her to sing "The Star-Spangled Banner."

"I pulled a switcheroonie on them," Marie said later.

She explained that she decided months ago to switch the lyrics because she will no longer sing the national anthem.

She said that she made the decision after a Russian broadcaster interviewed her and asked her what it was like to be an American.

At that moment, she said, she realized that as an African-American she at times feels like a foreigner in her home country.

Well, truth be told we are all foreigners in America. I get it, there are racist everywhere. Some people are just un-enlightened. I have at times felt like an outcast for whatever reason. I have discovered with soul searching, no one can make me feel anything less than human and their issues are their's alone. Whether race, sex, religion, class, etc... The assholes that don't get that are the sad ones. And I keep on getting on with life...

[DA Devil's Advocate]

I can see it now. The ball game will start I two hours. Right after the singing of the american national anthem, the black national anthem, the mexican national anthem, the canadian national anthem, the honduran national anthem, the indian national anthem, the french national anthem, the russian national anthem, etc. I'm not saying people should forsake their heritage but we should respect our culture. The national anthem is meant to unify. Especially since it follows a pledge to one nation indivisible. When will people realize those who practice their heritage in private and abandon it in public in favor of the conservative culture succede in this country and those who don't fail.

[Athena]

I hate to be forced into a position of agreeance with Malkin, but...I agree.

Not only was this woman's poor choice a question of professional ethics (you don't make unagreed upon changes), but it was racial separatism.

That's the problem with the "diversity" movement. Any collectivist idea like that only acts against itself. In trying to include everyone, it must define who "everyone" is, thus magnifying the differences between separate factions of the populace.

This is where nobley attempting to level the playing field fails us. By giving specific groups benefits, we are identifying them as different. We are saying, "the government sees you as different, less able," and this, in turn, causes people to consider themselves defined by their classification. This woman is a perfect example. She talks about what it feels like to be a "black" "woman" in America. What about what it feels like to be an American? Until we shed this motivation to qualify ourselves with identifying labels, we will never be over racism, sexism, and any other bigotry that society continues to struggle with.

We are all individuals. We shouldn't let our desire to belong to a group override that fact.

[Pete Bondurant]

Deport her to Sierra Leone. There she will learn the ways of her ancestors...after which, they will rape her and chop her limbs off, leaving her in the bush to be devoured by ants.

[ImmortalOne]

You know... if I got up there and sang a White National Anthem I would be booed and even sued. Or how about a White Miss America? Now I have friends from other cultures and backgrounds. But this is totally ignorant. .. I am gonna app to the next Miss Black America competition, then sue the shit out of the company when they tell me my skin is the wrong color.

[Sarabei]

I am in total agreement with several other users on this issue. If I, as a white american, wore a shirt saying "white power" or in ANY way showed pride in MY heritage I would be considered racist, which I most certainly am not. IF you want to live equally in a country, do so, DON'T whine about how you are different on one hand while holding the other out for all the freebies you can get by playing the system based on your difference.

[Athena]

I am in total agreement with several other users on this issue. If I, as a white american, wore a shirt saying "white power" or in ANY way showed pride in MY heritage I would be considered racist, which I most certainly am not. IF you want to live equally in a country, do so, DON'T whine about how you are different on one hand while holding the other out for all the freebies you can get by playing the system based on your difference.

Well....

One point to make about the "black power" issue and similar labels: "Black power" and "white power" aren't really comparable. The reason is a matter of specific ethnicity. If I ask the average caucasian what ethnicity they are, most are able to break it down for me. For example, I am primarily Croatian and Armenian, but I am also French, German and Irish. If you ask the average black person, he may not be able to do this. The reason is, when slaves were brought over from Africa, they were first collected from all over the continent, then transported to a port town in west or perhaps northern Africa. They were shipped to the U.S., and their "masters" rarely made note of their specific ethnicity, if they even knew at all. As a result, many African-Americans have no knowledge of their specific ethnicity, and must instead utilize a more general term like "African" or "black".

Because if this, the use of a term like "black pride" is, generally, much more innocent than the use of the term "white pride". A black person using this term is likely simply paying homage to his heritage, whereas a white person paying homage to heritage could say something like "Croatian pride" or "German pride", because he actually knows the specifics. A term like "white pride" is tends to be intentionally general and suggesting superiority over anything that is not white.

We've a fine line to walk in terms of diversity, heritage and discrimination. When I made my above post about how we should stop defining ourselves by racial specifics, I meant just that. What I did not mean is that we should ignore our heritage. We can absolutely embrace our differences without letting them define us. I can recognize and honor my heritage (or gender, or any other characteristic) without expecting it to qualify me for something, and should be able to recognize and honor it without expecting it to disqualify me for anything. THIS is true equality. Though well-intentioned programs like Affirmative Action, the government is failing to recognize us as equal.

[The Diabolical Mr. Lieman]

Well....

One point to make about the "black power" issue and similar labels: "Black power" and "white power" aren't really comparable. The reason is a matter of specific ethnicity. If I ask the average caucasian what ethnicity they are, most are able to break it down for me. For example, I am primarily Croatian and Armenian, but I am also French, German and Irish. If you ask the average black person, he may not be able to do this. The reason is, when slaves were brought over from Africa, they were first collected from all over the continent, then transported to a port town in west or perhaps nothern Africa. They were shipped to the U.S., and their "masters" rarely made note of their specific ethnicity, if they even knew at all. As a result, many African-Americans have no knowledge of their specific ethnicity, and must instead utilize a more general term like "African" or "black".

Because if this, the use of a term like "black pride" is, generally, much more innocent than the use of the term "white pride". A black person using this term is likely simply paying homage to his heritage, whereas a white person paying homage to heritage could say something like "Croatian pride" or "German pride", because he actually knows the specifics. A term like "white pride" is intentionally general and suggesting superiority over anything that is not white.

We've a fine line to walk in terms of diversity, heritage and discrimination. When I made my above post about how we should stop defining ourselves by racial specifics, I meant just that. What I did not mean is that we should ignore our heritage. We can absolutely embrace our differences without letting them define us. I can recognize and honor my heritage (or gender, or any other characteristic) without expecting it to qualify me for something, and should be able to recognize and honor it without expecting it to disqualify me for anything. THIS is true equality. Though well-intentioned programs like Affirmative Action, the government is failing to recognize us as equal.

Damn good post, lady. I agree with you on the prides, not the powers, though.

To me, black power is just as destructive as white power, because power has such a different meaning than pride. Black power and white power are the same thing. I really enjoyed your paragraphs on pride, though. Nice. However, I see nothing wrong with white pride whatsoever. I'm proud I'm white, certainly. Proud of my heritage. Norwegian....white....whatever. But I do get tired of those double standards.

[Pete Bondurant]

The ultimate outcome of "black power," is someone like Robert Mugabe. I know this from personal experience. White power/black power...both can be equally destructive.

[Athena]

I agree with the "power" bit, generally speaking. They absolutely CAN be equally destructive. They've just been destructive in different ways, I think. "White power" is associated with notorious and ominous symbols - swastikas, nooses and pointy hoods. The things associated with "Black power" are more subtle, namely, the force that feeds the victim-complex that is actively keeping black Americans from succeeding. These days, far more black folk are dying at each others' hands, thanks to the biproducts of the "power" movement than are dying at the hands of white folks.

[Countess Olenska]

The semantics of power and pride do not change the fact that this woman changed something that was supposed to unify into something that did the opposite. It was selfish of her regardless of what the motivation was.