Vanessa Williams sparks outrage for closing PBS ‘Capitol Fourth’ concert with ‘black national anthem’



Vanessa Williams and PBS both sparked major backlash after Williams helped to close the network's "Capitol Fourth" concert with the "black national anthem" — widely known as "Lift Every Voice and Sing."

The network aired its 41st annual special Sunday night.

What are the details?

Williams, who also hosted the long-running event, told the Associated Press on Friday that her decision to sing the song was in "celebration of the wonderful opportunity that we now have to celebrate Juneteenth."

"So we are reflective of the times," she said. "We are reflective of the times and I'm happy to be a part of a tremendous show that the producers are aware and willing to make the changes that have happened within the past year and a half."

Before launching into the song, Williams dedicated the performance to her ancestors.

"I dedicate this to our ancestors, to our new federal holiday Juneteenth, and to all who celebrate freedom," she said.

Earlier during the program, she also performed "God Bless America," and said that she was filled with "the spirit of freedom and the perseverance that is required to achieve that most precious right."

A Capitol Fourth 2021 | PBSyoutu.be

What was the response?

Lavern Spicer, Florida Republican House candidate, tweeted, "Vanessa honey, a BLACK national anthem is something a Black African Country would have, not a country like America that exists for everyone."

Vanessa honey, a BLACK national anthem is something a Black African Country would have, not a country like America… https://t.co/ig8K9pIOg0

— Lavern Spicer (@lavern_spicer) 1625330346.0

Newsmax host Steve Cortes added, "We have one national anthem..."

We have one national anthem… https://t.co/pLFbB28OIJ

— Steve Cortes (@CortesSteve) 1625340551.0

Author Tim Young wrote, "This isn't unity... it's division."

This isn't unity... it's division. https://t.co/EwLuZdoxeq

— Tim Young (@TimRunsHisMouth) 1625410363.0

Retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Rob Maness wrote, "There is only one national anthem. This is segregationism pure and simple. Shame on @JoeBiden if he doesn't demand an end to this racist activity."

There is only one national anthem. This is segregationism pure and simple. Shame on @JoeBiden if he doesn’t demand… https://t.co/iSInzkgJ8P

— 🇺🇸Col. Rob Maness ret. (@RobManess) 1625344009.0

Former CIA ops officer Brian Dean Wright responded, "We're witnessing the unraveling of E pluribus unum in real time. The consequences will be dire."

We’re witnessing the unraveling of E pluribus unum in real time. The consequences will be dire. https://t.co/AjEHq6V0g5

— BDW (@BryanDeanWright) 1625353752.0

Another wrote, "I 100% refuse to recognize the black national anthem. We are one nation, under God and indivisible. There are no separate national anthems."

"Who's singing the Asian and Latino ones? " quipped another.

CIA mocked online over woke recruitment video: 'Our enemies are laughing at us'



A woke recruitment video posted online by the Central Intelligence Agency last week sparked immediate backlash from critics online, who argued the prestigious intelligence service risks becoming a national embarrassment.

What are the details?

The video featured a 36-year-old Latina agent who describes herself as a "cisgender Millennial" who has been "diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder."

"I am intersectional, but my existence is not a box-checking exercise," she says in the video, adding, "I am a walking declaration, a woman whose inflection does not rise at the end of her sentences, suggesting that a question has been asked."

"I used to struggle with impostor syndrome," she admits shortly after, though adding that she now "refuse[s] to internalize misguided, patriarchal ideas of what a woman can or should be."

Humans of CIAyoutu.be

"I am tired of feeling like I am supposed to apologize for the space I occupy," she continues.

"I am unapologetically me. I want you to be unapologetically you, whoever you are. Whether you work at CIA, or anywhere else in the world. Command your space. Mija, you are worth it," she says as the video concludes.

What has been the response?

The video was originally posted on YouTube on March 25, but later promoted by the intelligence agency on Twitter on April 28. Following the Twitter post, a barrage of attacks against the agency poured in.

Former CIA officer Bryan Dean Wright blasted the video, saying, "The CIA used to be about mission to country. (I speak from experience). Now it's now about demanding — and getting — accommodation to fix an emotional wound or advance a personal agenda. America is less safe with this new CIA, and dangerously more political."

The CIA used to be about mission to country. (I speak from experience)Now it’s now about demanding — and getting… https://t.co/JTU6pZjtgn

— BDW (@BryanDeanWright) 1619996949.0

Meghan McCain, co-host of ABC's "The View," added, "This CIA recruitment video is a joke and truly embarrassing for our entire country. China, Russia and our enemies are laughing at us."

This CIA recruitment video is a joke and truly embarrassing for our entire country. China, Russia and our enemies are laughing at us.

— Meghan McCain (@MeghanMcCain) 1620070160.0

Daily Wire reporter Ryan Saavedra commented: "Biden is turning every U.S. institution into an embarrassing freak show. The world is laughing at us."

Another Twitter critic joked that the CIA's hiring of "fail brain millennials with debilitating anxiety" could pan out with a field agent being "captured and tortured because the analyst working on his mission is hyperventilating due to being quote tweeted."

Filmmaker Robby Starbuck added: "Every institution is being destroyed by the woke left. If we don't stop this, [America] will fall. I bet instead of waterboarding, they'll unleash real torture on terrorists: Listening to 'progressives' talk for hours about every social issue."

This is a real video released by the CIA. Every institution is being destroyed by the woke left. If we don’t stop t… https://t.co/lE8HOO74Q6

— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) 1620010348.0

"Woke Latina CIA agent in recruitment video lists all her identities (intersectional, cis gender, millennial woman of color with anxiety disorder) EXCEPT American," Fox News contributor Rachel Campos-Duffy tweeted. "God help us."

Anything else?

The CIA's woke new recruitment video comes as several major U.S. institutions undergo what appear to be progressive makeovers.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation appointed its first chief diversity officer, Scott McMillion, last month. As well, several branches of the military have taken steps to promote "diversity and inclusion" within their workspaces.

The U.S. Special Operations Command, a Defense Department division that oversees special operations components of the U.S. armed forces, appointed its first-ever diversity and inclusion chief this year.

Late last year, the U.S. Navy created a special task force, called Task Force Navy One, to "combat discrimination in the Navy" and require sailors to "advocate for and acknowledge all lived experiences and intersectional identities of every Sailor in the Navy."