Diverse, Inclusive Football
A Masterclass in DEI
Attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion have been jammed down our throats for the past few weeks. The federal government, schools, and some of our favorite businesses are walking back promises made when police brutality and White supremacy captured the nation's attention in 2020.
Sunday night at Super Bowl LIX, while one of the chief architects of DEI's dismantling watched from a suite at the Superdome in New Orleans, Black athletes and artists made sure we didn't forget that nothing moves without us.
Diversity showed up in a big way during the biggest night for America's sport.
Queen Tahj Williams, a New Orleans native designed the Super Bowl LIX logo.
"I wanted the logo and the theme art to be the most authentic representation of what it means to be in our culture so I took the different aspects of what I would do with my [Black Masking] suit, and I did it the same way on the Super Bowl logo and the theme art," Williams told The Cut.
Another New Orleans native, Trombone Shorty, took to the field with Lauren Daigle for a jazzy rendition of "America the Beautiful." Grammy Award-winner Jon Batiste followed up with a soulful spin on the National Anthem.
For those who actually tuned in for football, Super Bowl LIX was brought to you by two Black quarterbacks, Philadelphia Eagles' Jalen Hurts and Kansas City Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes. See also: the league's Offensive Player of the Year and Jim Brown Award recipient, Eagles running back Saquan Barkley.
And the Super Bowl MVP? With the most rushing yards by a quarterback ever in a Super Bowl and the 34th quarterback to take the Pete Rozelle trophy? Jalen Hurts.
For those of us who were there for the halftime show, rapper Kendrick Lamar gave us the Black History Month performance we needed and deserved. The icing on the cake were appearances by "Uncle Sam" L. Jackson, Serena Williams, SZA, a hit from Ryan Coogler's "Black Panther," and our "favorite song" — even if some folks "like to sue." Watch the Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show.
We've said it before, diversity is a winning strategy. If this country could just love Black people as much as it loves Black culture we could actually move forward instead of backward to a past that didn't serve us well.