Jully Black is speaking out about the racist messages she’s been receiving after her changing a word in the Canadian national anthem at the NBA’s All-Star Weekend earlier this month.
“This is what I’m getting as a BORN and raised Canadian #HateRunsDeep,” she tweeted early Monday morning alongside a screenshot of an email barraging her with racist messaging.
During her performance, Black changed a single word in the Canadian national anthem, singing “our home on native land” rather than “our home and native land” — a subtle but impactful reference to Canada’s colonial legacy and ongoing dispossession of Indigenous Peoples.
The lyric change led to praise from non-Indigenous and Indigenous Peoples alike, including Eva Jewell, the research director at the Indigenous-led research center Yellowhead Institute.
“Indigenous Peoples have been saying that line for decades actually — this is something that is known within our communities,” Jewell said to the Star’s Manuela Vega last week. “So, to see Jully uplift that into the national anthem … it showed me that she has seen us, she understands us; she gets it.”
Still, some weren’t happy with the lyrical change. Some also left racist comments under news articles about Black’s rendition, and in response to Twitter videos highlighting and celebrating it.
One critic sent an email addressed to Black questioning her “audacity” to change the national anthem while living in a “white majority country.”
“Who the f — k do you think you are? When I see your ugly face I see a manly-looking, ungrateful middle-aged black woman, who is deeply conflicted and always holds a grudge against Canadian society because she grew up always as the darkest kid in class,” the email sent to Black, which she then posted on Twitter, reads. “You watch and see what happens to you if you ever try and pull this s — t ever again.”
