The National Anthem: Gladys Knight
Following the announcement that Maroon 5, Travis Scott and Big Boi would be performing at the Super Bowl, the NFL confirmed that Atlanta born-and-bred singer Gladys Knight would be singing the National Anthem at the 2019 Super Bowl. Knight, who’s known as the “Empress of Soul,” shared her excitement in an announcement video at “coming home” to her native city of Atlanta for the performance.
The legendary singer later weighed in on the Colin Kaepernick controversy and her decision to participate in the Super Bowl. In a statement to
E! News, Knight stressed that the national anthem should be separate from the fight for social justice, while pointing towards her own history of civil rights activism.
“I understand that Mr. Kaepernick is protesting two things and they are police violence and injustice. It is unfortunate that our National Anthem has been dragged into this debate when the distinctive senses of the National Anthem and fighting for justice should each stand alone,” Knight said. “I am here today and on Sunday, Feb. 3 to give the Anthem back its voice, to stand for that historic choice of words, the way it unites us when we hear it and to free it from the same prejudices and struggles I have fought long and hard for all my life, from walking back hallways, from marching with our social leaders, from using my voice for good—I have been in the forefront of this battle longer than most of those voicing their opinions to win the right to sing our country’s Anthem on a stage as large as the Super Bowl LIII. No matter who chooses to deflect with this narrative and continue to mix these two in the same message, it is not so and cannot be made so by anyone speaking it.”