“Abbott Elementary” star Sheryl Lee Ralph hit the Super Bowl stage for a powerful rendition of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” before kickoff.
The soaring performance comes on the 123rd anniversary of the first time the song was performed in public, on Feb. 12, 1900, when a choir of 500 schoolchildren at the segregated Stanton School in Jacksonville, Florida, performed it on former President Abraham Lincoln’s birthday, according to NAACP.
“It is no coincidence that I will be singing the Black National Anthem ... on the same date it was first publicly performed 123 years ago,” Ralph tweeted ahead of the performance. “Happy Black History Month!”
Often referred to as the Black national anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing” was written by the Stanton School’s principal, NAACP leader James Weldon Johnson, in 1900. His brother, John Rosamond Johnson, composed the music.
Ralph will only be the third performer to sing “Lift Every Voice and Sing” at the Super Bowl. The NFL added the song to its pregame show during the 2020 season following racial unrest in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd.
Ralph’s career has resurged following her Emmy-winnning portrayal of kindergarten teacher Barbara Howard on ABC’s “Abbott Elementary.” Ralph, 66, landed the Emmy last year as a first-time nominee for best supporting actress in a comedy role. She brought down the house with her acceptance speech, in which she sang a few bars of Dianne Reeves’ “Endangered Species” and implored others to never give up on their dreams.
“Someone wake me up from this dream!” she wrote on Twitter last month of landing the Super Bowl gig.
Sunday’s performance was an opportunity for Ralph to show off her lesser-known musical chops. Prior to her television success, the actor was nominated for a Tony Award for her portrayal of Deena Jones in the hit Broadway musical “Dreamgirls” in 1981.
The Super Bowl’s other pregame performances included country music star Chris Stapleton, who sang the national anthem, and R&B legend Babyface, who performed “America the Beautiful.” Rihanna will make her long-awaited return to the stage for the halftime show.