In the wake of murders of George Floyd,  Breonna Taylor,  Rayshard Brooks and the countless other black and brown lives snuffed out by systemic racism, many entities have undertaken the charge of the moment to examine how their organization perpetuates prejudice, bigotry and discrimination. We applaud those organizations that have undertaken this examination in good faith and in substance. 

This examination is not incidental of a moment, but is demanded of a movement. Those in this movement have sacrificed much to see any progress. We will not sacrifice this meager advancement or accept the superficial review of entities who have largely preyed on and profited off the bodies of persons of color in this country. We require much more.

In this vein, we call on the NFL to abandon any planned use of the Black National Anthem at any of its games. The very first line of this Anthem directs us to lift every voice and sing, yet, the NFL has gone out of its way to silence voices like Colin Kaepernick. The last line implores us to stay true to our native land and yet, the Natives of our land  have had their culture and history disrespected by the NFL.

Any use of the Black National Anthem at NFL games, at this point, is merely performative allyship. The work has not been done and too many people have died advancing this movement for this to be how the NFL responds. More is required. Stop disrespecting communities of color.