Of particular note was Key’s opposition to the idea of the Colonial Marines.
#Was francis scott key a racist free
He supported sending free blacks (not slaves) back to Africa and, with a few exceptions, was about as pro-slavery, anti-black and anti-abolitionist as you could get at the time. He was, like most enlightened men at the time, not against slavery he just thought that since blacks were mentally inferior, masters should treat them with more Christian kindness. Key was an aristocrat and city prosecutor in Washington, D.C.
#Was francis scott key a racist full
To understand the full “Star-Spangled Banner” story, you have to understand the author. That-as is the case with 99 percent of history that is taught in public schools and regurgitated by the mainstream press-is less than half the story. The story, as most of us are told, is that Francis Scott Key was a prisoner on a British ship during the War of 1812 and wrote this poem while watching the American troops battle back the invading British in Baltimore. O’er the land of the free, and the home of the brave. Oh say does that star spangled banner yet wave, In fact, if you look up the song on Google, only the most famous lyrics pop up on : Oh say can you see,Īt the twilight’s last gleaming? Whose broad stripes and bright stars, “The Star-Spangled Banner,” as most Americans know it, is only a couple of lines.
It is one of the most racist, pro-slavery, anti-black songs in the American lexicon, and you would be wise to cut it from your Fourth of July playlist. Bill Clinton: Woke in the ’90s.) In the case of our national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner,” perhaps not knowing the full lyrics is a good thing. Most black folks don’t even know “the black national anthem.” (There’s a great story about Bill Clinton being at an NAACP meeting where he was the only one who knew it past the first line. Jeremiah Wright remix than the actual full lyrics of the song.
“God Bless America”? More people know the Rev. He added that "Imagine" is "the most beautiful, unifying, all-people, all-backgrounds-together kind of song you could have”.Americans generally get a failing grade when it comes to knowing our “patriotic songs.” I know more people who can recite “ America, F–k Yeah” from Team America than “America the Beautiful.” “Yankee Doodle”? No one older than a fifth-grader in chorus class remembers the full song. I do side with the people who say that we should rethink this as the national anthem, because this is about the deep-seated legacy of slavery and white supremacy in America, where we do things over and over and over again that are a slap in the face of people of colour and women. Historian Daniel E Walker agrees, and suggests it should be replaced with John Lennon's "Imagine". Powell makes the point that: "How are you criticising a rap song for being violent, but when we get to kindergarten, we are literally teaching children violence through song? I said, ‘I can't participate anymore.’ So I stopped a long time ago.’” Key, who died in 1843, was slave owner who made some horrifyingly racist claims, saying that African Americans were an "inferior race of people, which all experience proves to be the greatest evil that afflicts a community".Īctivist and author Kevin Powell says that it's time to address the racist history of the anthem that Americans grow up singing.įor example, the original version contained the lines: "No refuge could save the hireling and slave/From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave/And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave/O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave." Last week, protesters in San Francisco toppled a statue of the song's composer, Francis Scott Key. "The Star-Spangled Banner" has been at the centre of the struggle against racism for some years, most notably when Black NFL player Colin began to take the knee during the singing of the anthem before football games back in 2016.Īt the time he drew widespread criticism from white people – including President Trump, who suggested in a tweet that he should be fired.īut now it seems people are reconsidering. A number of American cultural institutions have been called out for the racist stereotypes they promote.įrom The Simpsons to Aunt Jemima syrup, it seems brands and entities are taking notice, and changing things up to become more inclusive and promote the anti-racism message that the resurgence in the Black Lives Matter movement has shed a light on.īut perhaps the most engrained of all such institutions getting a new reckoning is the national anthem.
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