During Essencefest, one of the largest African-American music festivals in the U.S., millionaire R&B singer, Jill Scott, sang her own rendition of America’s national anthem, “The Star Spangled Banner” in which she changed the lyrics to showcase how “oppressed” black people in America are.
“Oh, say can you see, by the blood in the streets,” she begins, “This place doesn’t smile on you, colored child. Whose blood built this land with sweat and their hands. But we’ll die in this place and your memory erased,” she continued.
Her rendition goes on to highlight how the United States is not the “land of the free but the home of the slave.” The official Twitter page for Essence, the black-owned lifestyle magazine that put on the festival, tweeted in support of the anthem stating, “Everyone please rise for the only National Anthem we will be recognizing from this day forward.”
The clip shared widely across social media sparked much conversation as Americans pointed out that this rendition was being sung by a successful black woman who has accumulated a net worth of $12 million dollars thanks to the opportunity awarded to her in America.
“For reference, Jill Scott’s net worth is estimated to be $12 MILLION and is likely much higher. In what way is she oppressed?” conservative pundit Lavern Spicer, asked.
Other Twitter users commented on Spicer’s post sharing that anyone who can’t respect the American flag, the Pledge of Allegiance, or the National Anthem, should leave the country. Others highlighted how her performance on a stage in front of thousands is a clear example of not only popular support but also financial opportunity.
The performance was a stop on her “Who Is Jill Scott? 23rd Anniversary Tour” tour, which has taken her throughout North America and Europe. Scott is set to make stops in London, Paris, and Chicago.
Tickets for her show are priced at upwards of $200 dollars a piece, a flawless example of the so-called “oppression” facing Scott and other minorities trying to make it in America.
Her rendition comes on the back of the Supreme Court overturning Affirmative Action in universities throughout the U.S., a policy that allowed universities to discriminate against school applicants based on their race. When affirmative action was in place, “minority” students were given precedence over white or Asian candidates, who were often more qualified, in the name of “diversity.”
The original policy was a concrete example of how the United States attempted to overcorrect what they deemed “institutionalized racism,” but ended up taking opportunities away from hardworking students who didn’t meet “minority” criteria.
However, it’s doubtful that this is the type of oppression that Scott was hinting at during her rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner.”
