Tag Archives: James Weldon Johnson

Thoughts on White America’s Reaction to Vanessa Williams’ Singing of the Negro National Anthem aka How Embarrassing Things Can Be When A People Are Ignorant Regarding History

In a nation where the vast majority of citizens are borderline historically illiterate, most Americans know the following historical phrase.

If you don’t like it here, go back to (fill in the blank).

Depending on what was occurring in this nation, there are several countries that would be correct answers if placed in the above “fill in the blank” spot.

Let’s be honest about this matter, it is White people who are the conveyors of such abrasive talk. I have heard many Blacks ask “Where did these people come from?” I laugh at such a question because if you search any map, you will never find White land. I like to ask people who insist that White is an actual identity the following questions.

If the Irish are from Ireland and the French are from France and the Germans are from Germany and Brazilians are from Brazil, wherein the hell are White people from?

My point is that Whiteness is a social construction that serves as a rallying point for a diverse population of Europeans that allows them unfettered access to political power and economic might; not to mention the ability to craft laws to serve their interests. There is strength in numbers after all.

The fact that the above is rarely discussed in the public arena does not make it any less true. In the moments following World War I, new immigrant groups like the Irish, Polish, and German were forced by more powerful Whites to suppress their ethnic identity in favor of a largely undefined White identity that provided them a path to political power. It is ironic that there is no better display that today’s Whites have become the tyrannical monsters they often rail against than on Independence Day.

This year’s annual display of White America’s demand that all citizens conform to their value system and priorities or “Go back to Africa” are the public attacks on former Miss America Vanessa Williams; yes, these White folks are attacking the first Black woman to represent them by winning their pageant. Williams’ performance of James Weldon Johnson’s “Lift Every Voice and Sing” a song commonly considered the Negro National Anthem at PBS’ “A Capitol Fourth” has offended a legion of freedom-loving White patriots. What follows is a sampling of White American Patriots’ reaction to Williams’s performance of the Negro National Anthem.

  • We have one national anthem (Steve Cortes – Newsmax)
  • Vanessa honey, a BLACK national anthem is something a Black African Country would have, not a country like America that exists for everyone. (Lavern Spicer – Fl. Politician)
  • Separate, but equal. MLK would be proud. (RR Cooper)
  • There is only one national anthem. This is segregationism pure and simple. Shame on @JoeBiden if he doesn’t demand an end to this racist activity. (US Col. Rob Maness)
  • Is it possible to have a “Black National Anthem” and still expect to have unity?
  • I 100% refuse to recognize the black national anthem. We are one nation, under God and indivisible. There are no separate national anthems.

There is a popular saying that “absolute power corrupts absolutely.” This axiom was at work when the British had their boot on the neck of what would eventually become the first Americans. Today, the descendants of the aforementioned colonists, joined by the descendants of new immigrants who fled or were ejected from their European homeland become a totalitarian force that demands all others conform to their worldview. This brazen display of non-acceptance of the Negro National Anthem in the midst of a national celebration of freedom drips with irony. If nothing else, this should serve as definitive proof of why it is so crucial for racial matters to be taught in this nation. There is obviously an entire White population, children, and adults, who have lived entire lives ignorant to diverse perspectives.

I, along with droves of other historically literate Blacks, tired long ago of the uphill battle of teaching Whites about the cavernous errors in their thought patterns and ways. We have little sympathy for those who do not recognize that their political viewpoints and questionable reading of history have made them authoritarian figures that demand all others adopt their priorities or leave. The pervasive ignorance engulfing so many Whites at the present moment prevents them from realizing that they are seeking to expel Blacks who have done more to build this nation than any of their ancestors.

So, it is with great privilege that I address my fellow countrymen with the following statement.

If you do not like the singing of the Negro National Anthem or the rich cultural diversity that non-White groups bring to this nation, you could always go back to whatever part of Europe that your ancestors hail from; that is, if they would have you. After all, I am sure that the leaders of your homeland had good reason for expelling your ancestors in the first place.

Lift every voice and sing…

Dr. James Thomas Jones III

© Manhood, Race, and Culture, 2021.