BU Athletics Is Playing Black National Anthem before Many Home Games for Black History Month
Leland Clarke (Wheelock’75), a CFA professor of the practice of musicology and ethnomusicology, commends BU Athletics for playing “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” known as the Black National Anthem, at several BU home games to help celebrate Black History Month. At its core, Clarke says, “Lift Every Voice and Sing” is a song that many members of the Black community grew up with.
“It is a good thing, as long as people understand what it’s about, why it’s sung, and why it’s being done,” Clarke says. “I think “Lift Every Voice” is one of those pieces where once you hear the lyrics and know why it was written, under the circumstances it makes it even more powerful than just something that we sing.”