The Super Bowl has come a long way since its original days of being just like any other football game — back when halftime was nothing more than an intermission accompanied by the sounds of a marching band on the field. In fact, during its early days, starting with Super Bowl I in 1967, oftentimes, there was less excitement around the event than college games. As we all know, over the years, that has drastically changed. And along the way, Black people have been a crucial part of that evolution and economic impact.
Despite the National Football League’s (NFL) obvious and significant issues when it comes to race, paired with its lack of meaningful engagement in matters of racial justice, it’s impossible to discuss the sport, the league, the network, or the Super Bowl without talking about Black people.
From the very first Super Bowl, which took place in Los Angeles and featured the marching band from the HBCU Grambling College (now known as Grambling State University), to this year’s game, featuring Usher as the halftime show headliner — year-after-year, Black talent and culture are on full display as the world tunes in. Thankfully so, because when looking back at some of the Super Bowl’s Blackest moments, it’s clear that the event wouldn’t be what it is without us.
It’s hard to explain the “Michael Jackson effect” during the height of his fame to folks who didn’t witness it at the time — in person or on screen.
When the King of Pop shot up onto the 1993 Halftime show stage, he stood still for over a minute. All the while, the crowd was going wild. He then proceeded to perform hits like “Billie Jean” and “Black or White,” as 133 million people tuned in — making his the most-watched halftime show ever and one of the highest-rated telecasts of all time.
Prior to Jackson’s performance, the Super Bowl Halftime show was an afterthought that wasn’t known for featuring chart-topping artists. That all changed after Jackson.
In 2016, Coldplay was advertised as the headlining act for the Halftime Show. Prior to the show, the band’s lead singer, Chris Martin, reached out to Bruno Mars and asked him to join.
Specifically, Martin wanted to see Mars perform Uptown Funk with Beyoncé. In true Beyoncé fashion, she came out and gave one of the most memorable halftime performances of all time.
As she and her dancers — all Black women, sporting natural hair, and wearing clothes that invoked imagery of the Black Panthers — formed a large “X,” she performed Formation for the very first time.
Her performance was so Black, that it outraged people, like former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
Following the 1971 death of Louis Armstrong, the 1972 Super Bowl, set to take place in New Orleans with the theme, “Salute to Louis Armstrong” — the first Super Bowl to pay tribute to someone.
When Carol Channing and Ella Fitzgerald were selected to perform they became the annual event’s first “celebrity” singers. A surprising piece of Black history: Fitzgerald became the first Black woman to perform at the halftime show.
The only way the National Anthem can find its way on a list of the Blackest anything is the voice of an angel.
Whitney Houston’s vocals were truly one-of-a-kind. Her rendition of the National Anthem during Super Bowl XXV in 1991 remains one of the most iconic performances of the song of all time.
When Rihanna took the stage at the 2023 Super Bowl Halftime show, it was her first performance in more than 5 years. That alone was reason enough to celebrate. But as the Barbadian beauty billionaire reminded us of the countless hits she has under her belt she also revealed her growing belly and announced her pregnancy with her second child.
ESSENCE fave, Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback, and Patrick Mahomes, quarterback of the Kansas City Chiefs, made history when their teams came face-to-face during Super Bowl 2023.
That was the first Super Bowl in history to feature two Black quarterbacks.
Fresh off the heels of her historic Emmy win for her role in Abbott Elementary, the legendary actress, singer, author, and activist Thee Sheryl Lee Ralph made history when she became the first person to sing the Black national anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” at the Super Bowl.
Naturally, some white people were outraged. Months later, in August 2023, she tweeted a video of herself singing the same melody, but different lyrics, “lift every chair and swing.” A truly full circle moment. (If you know, you know.)
The 2023 Super Bowl was especially Black — from Rihanna and Sheryl Lee Ralph, to the historic face-off between two Black quarterbacks. In addition to those household names, there was also Justina Miles.
At the time, Miles was a 20-year-old nursing student at an HBCU (Bowie State University in Maryland). Her incredible rendition of Rihanna’s “BBHM” in American Sign Language (ASL) went viral that night. “(It’s) not only for me to share this experience with the whole world,” she said, “but to really bring that empowerment to millions and millions of Black deaf people all over the country who’ve never really seen that before. I feel that is truly lifting every voice, even my voice.”
When Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, Eminem, and Mary J. Blige rocked the halftime stage during the 2022 Super Bowl, that undoubtedly became one of, if not the, Blackest Super Bowl performance ever.
This performance became the first hip hop halftime show — a direct result of the NFL’s partnership with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation.
Only Prince could pull off the dramatic and iconic performance that he did at the 2007 Super Bowl in Miami. The rain was pouring and the wind was roaring, when NBC producer Don Mischer gave the star a call. “I want you to know it’s raining,” he told Prince. To which Prince responded, “Yes it’s raining.” Mischer then asked, “Are you OK?” Prince then said, “Can you make it rain harder?”
Prince went on to perform one of the most memorable halftime shows — in the rain, on a dangerously slippery stage. And yes, his set included Purple Rain.
