Jonathan Adams
Rene Marie Remixes the National Anthem
Artist and activist, Rene Marie created quite a stir recently when she opted to sing the lyrics of the Black National Anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing” to the melody of the “Star-Spangled Banner” at an annual event held by the Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper.
Though Rene Marie has since said she is not sorry for her performance, many political leaders including Barack Obama have criticized the action.
“We only have one National Anthem. And so, if she was asked to sing the National Anthem, she should have sung that. ‘Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing’ is a beautiful song, but we only have one National Anthem.”
We are going to charge Obama’s hard stance on the National Anthem to his need to appear undoubtedly patriotic, but do you think that what Rene Marie did was anti-American? Watch the video and let us hear from you.
Posted at 12:45 PM, Jul 07, 2008 in Music & Film | Permalink | View Comments
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Comments
beautiful! thank you.
Posted by: sherry | July 11, 2008 11:27 AM
am some days late but from where i am sitting in the uk this is a most beautiful performance...
Posted by: london | July 20, 2008 12:42 PM
While it is indeed a beautiful song and she performed it very well, it was anti-American. I hate to have to say that but it's true. I also hope that Obama was sincere in his words instead of merely pandering to the American public because I DO believe that we have only ONE national anthem, which should unite all people despite our differences. I really get frustrated that even when this country seems to be moving in the right direction toward unity and acceptance, there are still people who feel that they want to be separated from the rest of our national community. In this particular case, Ms. Marie has chosen to put the "Black national Anthem" in higher standing than the REAL national anthem. We are not a country of blacks and whites. We are a country of Americans! There are tough patches, we all know that, but this does not help!
Posted by: Jon | July 22, 2008 7:49 AM