Singer Replaces "Star Spangled Banner" With "Black National Anthem" At Official Denver City Function

An African-American jazz singer shockingly replaced the words to the national anthem with those of the "Black National Anthem" during Denver's annual State of the City address. Rene Marie was asked to sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" before Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper delivered the annual address yesterday. Instead she sang some song that sounds nothing like the American national anthem.

I have to say that this is deeply distressing. As Barack Obama likes to say, there is not a Black America and White America, there is only the United States of America. To divide yourself based on race with an alternative national anthem is just plain wrong. This singer should have known better. There is nothing racist about the American national anthem that should prevent a black person from singing it with just as much patriotism as anyone else. If I were one of those people on the stage I would have gone right to the microphone and sang the real national anthem whether they asked me to or not. I do not know how many African-Americans feel the need to sing anything but the Star Spangled Banner, but I certainly believe this must be a small minority. I hope I am not wrong about that. This was a divisive move that despite her insistence otherwise I am sure she knew full well would provoke outrage. She should be ashamed of herself for singing whatever that was especially at an official city function.



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