Did the NFL replace the U.S. national anthem with the "Black national anthem" at the 2024 NFL season opener? No, that's not true: The U.S. national anthem was sung by R&B artist Coco Jones, finishing to fireworks and a flyover of a B-2 stealth bomber. Before that, "Lift Evry Voice and Sing" was sung by gospel singer Tasha Cobbs Leonard. Video footage currently circulating on social media showing The Kansas City Boys and The Kansas City Girls Choir singing "Lift Evry Voice and Sing" is from the 2023 season opener, when the U.S. national anthem was also sung.
The claim appeared in a post on X (archived here) on September 5. 2024. It was captioned:
Why has the NFL replaced our National Anthem with the so-called 'BLACK' national anthem?!
We have ONE national anthem, and it's the Star Spangled Banner.
Does the NFL want to be Bud Lighted or something?
This is how the post appeared at the time of writing:
(Source: X screenshot Fri Sep 06 14:37:01 2024 UTC)
This is a baseless claim. The U.S. national anthem was not replaced -- it was sung at the September 5, 2024, NFL season opener between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Baltimore Ravens. The one-minute video clip included with this post (pictured above) is from the 2023 NFL season opener between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Detroit Lions. A copy of this broadcast footage (pictured below) showing The Kansas City Boys and The Kansas City Girls Choir singing "Lift Evry Voice and Sing" was posted on YouTube (archived here) on September 7, 2023. That year, "The Star-Spangled Banner" was sung by Natalie Grant (archived here).
(Source: YouTube screenshot taken on Fri Sep 06 17:16:34 2024 UTC)
"Lift Evry Voice and Sing," a hymn written in 1900 that is sometimes called the "Black National Anthem," was sung by Grammy-Award-winning singer Tasha Cobbs Leonard during the September 5, 2024, pregame show. The screenshot below is from the 2:24-minute mark in a video posted on YouTube that same day.
(Source: YouTube screenshot taken on Fri Sep 06 17:41:39 2024 UTC)
Grammy-Award-winning singer Coco Jones performed the U.S. national anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner," at the Chiefs and Ravens' September 5, 2024, game. A video posted on YouTube on September 5, 2024 (archived here) is embedded below, queued to the 10-second mark.
Jones' performance shows on the Arrowhead Stadium jumbotron. A the 1:45 mark, as she sings the last verse of the anthem, there is a flyover by a B-2 Stealth Bomber with the finale fireworks.
Lead Stories fact checks of false claims involving the U.S. national anthem can be found here and those on "Lift Evry Voice and Sing" can be found here.
