Angel Reese sings Black National Anthem at Fever arena ahead of Juneteenth

Atlanta Dream forward Angel Reese sang the Black National Anthem, 'Lift Every Voice and Sing,' at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Thursday before her team played the Indiana Fever.

Reese spoke about the moment after the Dream beat the Fever 113-96 on Saturday for their second straight win. She said the song hit her after she heard loud boos from Fever fans two days earlier.

"It was just one in the moment of where I was, and how it felt, and how it hit, and the things that I've had to experience the last couple years, and they haven't always been great," Reese told reporters.

"It's not supposed to be easy, but I am very, very grateful for this opportunity to be a Black woman, it's a privilege... being where I was, hearing the loud boos when I was in the arena, and then when I heard 'Lift Every Voice,' it just made me feel like, this is for the ones that walked for me."

Reese also said she sees value in representing Black culture for young fans watching the league.

"Those young girls, those young boys out there, when they see a Black girl being able to run up and down the court and just have this life and have this experience, I think it's really important," she said. "Representation is important, for me to use my voice, for me to use my platform, I'll never stay silent for things I believe in."

The song, often called the Black National Anthem, was written as a poem in 1900 by James Weldon Johnson with music by his brother, John Rosamond Johnson. It was first performed publicly by a choir of 500 schoolchildren in Jacksonville, Florida. The WNBA has included the song in Juneteenth programming in recent years.

Reese has previously said some fans of Caitlin Clark showed racism toward her. In September 2024 she said on her podcast that some of the behavior from Iowa and Indiana fans crossed a line.

Last May the WNBA investigated claims of racist behavior by Fever fans after a game in Indiana but found no evidence. Reese still said at the time that such conduct had no place in the league.

The two teams met twice in three days this week. Atlanta won 108-101 on Thursday, with Reese scoring 21 points and grabbing 11 rebounds while Clark had 26 points. The Dream won again on Saturday, improving to 11-4 while Indiana fell to 9-7.

Reese became the fastest player in WNBA history to reach 1,000 career rebounds, hitting the mark in her 79th game. She finished Saturday's game with 18 points and eight rebounds.

The Dream acquired Reese from the Chicago Sky in April in a trade that sent Atlanta's first-round picks in 2027 and 2028 to Chicago.