When José Feliciano sang the “Star-Spangled Banner” at the 1968 World Series and when Marvin Gaye performed it at the 1983 All-Star Game, those performances were perceived by some as forms of protest, because of the ways in which they reinterpreted the original version. It is also important to remember that not all performances of the national anthem or songs like “America the Beautiful” are seen by everyone as affirmations. AFP/Getty Imagesįrom the Black Power Salute to Colin Kaepernick: What's changed? At left is Peter Norman of Australia who took second place. (FILES) US athletes Tommie Smith (C) and John Carlos (R) raise their gloved fists in the Black Power salute to express their opposition to racism in the USA during the US national anthem, after receiving their medals 17 October 1968 for first and third place in the men's 200m event at the Mexico Olympic Games. "Forty years after Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised their fists in a civil rights gesture on the Olympic medal stand in Mexico City, protests on the podium could make a comeback in Beijing.". Perhaps Knight is hoping to tap into that spirit at a time when some might believe that racial tensions are as pronounced as they were during the black protest movement of the 1960s. When Aretha Franklin sang songs like “Respect” and “Spirit in the Dark,” the sounds resonated well beyond the churches that cultivated her talents. As the record label’s founder, Berry Gordy, described it, Motown wasn’t the sound of black America, but “the sound of young America,” as the phrase appeared on every one of Motown’s albums and singles. Back then, soul was a sound that closed the racial divide in the country. She emerged at a time when soul music wasn’t just a channel on satellite radio or a playlist for the parents of millennials. Knight came to prominence in the 1960s as the lead vocalist of Gladys Knight and The Pips, recording during the first part of her career for the Motown label, which marks its 60th anniversary this year. In my view, Knight is driven not by the desire for some late career resurgence, but by the traditions that produced her. Knight has long been committed to social causes such as the United Negro College Fund (UNCF), the Children’s Diabetes Foundation, and AIDS research, appearing on the classic single “That’s What Friends Are For” (1986) with Elton John, Dionne Warwick and Stevie Wonder. The 74-year-old “Empress of Soul” and Georgia native issued a statement saying, “I’m proud to use my voice to unite and represent our country in my hometown of Atlanta.” There will be those who will look cynically at Knight’s decision, but in a career that has spanned 60 years, she will have access to the largest audience of her career. There are perhaps myriad reasons why Knight chose to perform at this year’s Super Bowl. Mark Anthony Neal Megan Morr/Duke Photography
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