American Sign Language performer Justina Miles shined bright like a diamond during Rihanna’s Super Bowl halftime show on Sunday.
Miles, a nursing student and cheerleader at Bowie State University, made history at Arizona’s State Farm Stadium as the first deaf Black woman to perform at the Super Bowl, according to the NFL on CBS. In addition to delivering an acclaimed ASL rendition of Rihanna’s halftime set, Miles also performed the Black national anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” sung by “Abbott Elementary” star Sheryl Lee Ralph before kickoff.
“That song represents resilience for me, and the national anthem never really resonated with me personally,” Miles said during a press conference previewing the Super Bowl. “The Black national anthem is really inspiring and empowering. ... This song is so positive. It’s so beautiful, and you don’t really hear or see it very often — or even hear about it. And there’s many folks who don’t even know that the Black national anthem exists.
