October 24th 2023.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Bayou Classic football game between Southern University and Grambling State University, and in celebration of this momentous event, the pre-game singing of the Black national anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing” will feature Blair Dottin-Haley, the grandson of civil rights activist and Southern University alumnus Oretha Castle-Haley.
The New Orleans native expressed his gratitude for the opportunity: “I’m extremely grateful for this opportunity. This feels like the ancestors are aligning because ‘Lift Every Voice’ was one of the first songs I ever learned. My grandmother [Oretha] and I used to play a game where I’d check the lyrics on printed programs at events we’d attend together.”
The anthem was written as a poem by NAACP leader James Weldon Johnson in 1900 and singing it at the “Super Bowl for the HBCUs” is a special honor, ensuring that the Black national anthem is included in the festivities.
To mark the occasion, a roadshow was launched on October 22 at the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and Northwest Louisiana History Museums. The bus, decorated with the logos of the event and each of the schools, will travel throughout the state as well as Dallas, and the mayors of each city will sign the anniversary game ball to be featured in the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C.
The Bayou Classic weekend will also include Greek step shows, job fairs, parades and the Battle of the Bands competition. The game is expected to have a record number of fans in attendance, but it will also be nationally televised.
If you’d like to participate in the celebrations or buy tickets, visit mybayouclassic.com for more information.
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