Black history was made on Sunday night in New Orleans.
We witnessed some of the greatest in sports and music on the field. Super Bowl LIX was dripping with melanin and, shall I say, merit.
Before the game even started, award-winning musician and Louisiana native Jon Batiste opened with a jazzy rendition of the National Anthem and powerhouse vocalist Ledisi sang the Black National Anthem.
Jalen Hurts became one of only four Black quarterbacks to win the Super Bowl in the league’s history. And I am convinced that Kendrick Lamar’s performance will be remembered as one of the most important halftime shows ever.
Millions watched the Philadelphia Eagles defeat the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22. MVP Hurts and the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes are the only two Black quarterbacks to have met in the Super Bowl, and now they have done it twice. Hurts and Mahomes will undeniably be remembered as two of the best players in football.
Once upon a time, Black quarterbacks were rare even after NFL team rosters became predominantly Black. The quarterback was seen as a leader requiring intellect and strategy. While Black players were applauded for their speed, strength and athleticism, they were not always recognized for their strategic thinking.
It should be clear to everyone that no race has a monopoly on intelligence or, everyone’s new favorite word, merit. However, amid the massive rollback of DEI across the country in favor of so-called merit-based criteria, we cannot forget that highly qualified Black people were shut out of one opportunity after another for generations.
Despite this fact, Black people in every sector have found ways to shine which was more than evident at this Super Bowl.
As the Eagles entered halftime with a 24-0 lead, Compton native and acclaimed rapper Kendrick Lamar began his politically charged performance.
Having won a Pulitzer Prize, multiple Grammy awards and had years of commercial success, Lamar is inarguably one of the greatest artists of this generation.
Following his opening song, Lamar pointedly stated, “The revolution (is about) to be televised. You picked the right time, but the wrong guy.”
If you just wanted to dance and sing along, you were at the wrong show. Now came a performance with a message and a wealth of Black brilliance.
Enter Samuel L. Jackson who has starred in more than 150 films and earned numerous awards including an honorary Lifetime Achievement Oscar in 2022. Jackson played the role of Uncle Sam and invited the audience to the “great American game.”
The backdrop of football as America’s game was merged with the game of using Black talent for gain without an equitable share of the resources those talents bring.
Lamar teased his hit song “Not Like Us” throughout his show. The song is the most commercially successful diss track in the history of hip hop and it won him five more Grammys.
Due to its multi-layered messaging and instant popularity, the song was the final blow to end the rap beef between Lamar and Drake. Now that Lamar has performed the song at the Super Bowl while smiling directly into the camera, this beef is officially cooked, fried, charred and extra crispy — another fine moment in Black history.
“Not Like Us” was more than a diss to Drake, it was also a condemnation of all culture vultures. Drake is a former child actor from Canada — a different country and a completely different culture. Lamar’s song accused Drake of, among other things, using Black culture in the same way colonizers did — only when it was convenient and only for profit.
In the lyrics to “Not Like Us,” Lamar warns Drake not to speak on tennis player Serena Williams, a fellow Compton native. A crip-walking Williams joined Lamar on the field to dance all over her ex Drake’s feelings and the people who criticized her for doing the same dance after winning at the London Olympics in 2012.
Williams is one of the greatest tennis players ever, male or female. Singer SZA, who accompanied Lamar for two songs, regularly wins accolades and tops the charts. Hurts and Mahomes made history again and Jackson’s body of work speaks for itself. And the Eagles’ Associate Performance Coach Autumn Lockwood became the first Black woman coach to win the Super Bowl.
You can call it the Super Bowl if you like, but this was by far one of the best Black History Month TV specials I have ever seen. Despite all attempts to marginalize, criminalize, colonize, appropriate, co-opt and stifle, Black brilliance was on full display for all to see.
So much so that it’s hard to believe anyone could ever doubt it.
Contact Editor-in-Chief Camike Jones at 317-762-7850 or camikej@indyrecorder.com.
Camike Jones is the Editor-in-Chief of the Indianapolis Recorder. Born and raised in Indianapolis, Jones has a lifelong commitment to advocacy and telling stories that represent the community.
