Is The National Anthem Racist?
The Star-Spangled Banner, long a treasured symbol of national unity, has suddenly become “one of the most racist, pro-slavery songs” in American culture. Why is this happening? And more importantly, is it true? USA Today columnist James Robbins explores the history of the song and its author to answer these questions.
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Script:
Is America’s national anthem racist?
Had you asked this question just a few years ago to fans at a baseball, basketball, or football game, they would have assumed you had imbibed one too many beers.
Today, thanks to an assault by the progressive left on “The Star-Spangled Banner” and its composer, Francis Scott Key, you might get a different reaction.
For example, here’s what Jason Johnson, journalism professor at Morgan State University and popular cable news commentator, wrote about the anthem: “It is one of the most racist, pro-slavery, anti-black songs in the American lexicon…”
Is Johnson serious? Actually, he is. And sadly, a lot of progressives agree with him. But why? To answer that question, we need a brief history of the song.
Key wrote “The Star-Spangled Banner” after witnessing the American victory at the Battle of Ft. McHenry during the War of 1812, a rare bright spot in the young country’s second conflict with Britain—a conflict in which the Americans mostly got their butts kicked.
Critics like Johnson focus on the third stanza, in which Key mocks the retreating British soldiers. Before describing those lyrics, I need to make a point: The third stanza is virtually unknown. Almost no American has ever sung, read, or heard it. But even so, it’s not nearly as offensive as it’s made out to be.
Here’s what Key wrote: “No refuge could save the hireling and slave, from the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave.”
The claim of racism focuses, of course, on Key’s use of the word “slave” which, so the argument goes, refers to the British Second Corps of Colonial Marines. This unit was composed of former American slaves who had been encouraged to escape bondage and fight alongside British troops.
According to this line of thinking, the slave-owning Key, a prominent attorney, was terribly upset by the idea of freed blacks fighting against their former masters and was so gratified by their defeat that he inserted this line into his poem.
Like many Americans living in the early 19th century, Key’s record on race was mixed. On the one hand, he owned slaves himself. On the other, he offered free legal representation to slaves petitioning the Maryland court for their freedom.
In 1835, he served as prosecutor in a case in Washington, D.C. of an enslaved black man, Arthur Bowen, who was accused of threatening his white female owner. But when a riot ensued over the incident, Key bravely stood between Bowen and a lynch mob bent on killing him.
With respect to the anthem, there is no direct evidence that Key was referring to the Second Corps of Colonial Marines, that he even knew that the unit existed, or cared if it did. It should further be noted that this unit was not even present at the battle, so Key could not have seen them fleeing the field.
Why, then, did Key use the word “slave”?
We’ll never know for sure, of course, but it’s important to note that Key was not the first person to use the expression “hirelings and slaves.” It was a common rhetorical device of the time, used on both sides of the Atlantic.
You find it in newspaper articles and English-language literature well before the onset of the war. It was an all-purpose insult that could be used to refer to enemy troops, foreign leaders, corrupt politicians, or anyone else in need of a put-down.
For the complete script, visit https://www.prageru.com/video/is-the-national-anthem-racist
source
I have searched the National Anthem Full Version only to find that there are only a few covers of all four verses. And the third verse is replaced. My voice is not good but the only full cover with the original third verse is my cover and an old man's. Yet English is not my mother tongue
Now as for the third stanza of the anthem, it must be placed in proper context. The "slaves" he mentions were runaway slaves who were fighting with the armed forces of Great Britain, they were the enemy. The hireling refers to the mercenaries fighting for the British. In other words, they were the enemy. The goal in war is to kill your enemy.
Here's a little understood fact, the stanza "and the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air." is actually artillery fire from the British upon Ft. McHenry. Today Americans foolishly yell, whistle and shout when that line is sung, not realizing that's British rockets and British bombs/cannon fire killing Americans.
September 13, 1814, British warships sent a downpour of shells and rockets onto Fort McHenry in Baltimore Harbor, relentlessly pounding the American fort for 25 hours. The bombardment, known as the Battle of Baltimore.
Francis Scott Key, an American lawyer, had boarded the flagship of the British fleet on the Chesapeake Bay in hopes of getting the British to release a friend who had recently been arrested. Key was successful, but because he and his companions had gained knowledge of the impending attack on Baltimore, the British did not let them go. They allowed the Americans to return to their own vessel but continued guarding them. Under their scrutiny, Key watched on September 13 as the barrage of Fort McHenry began eight miles away. He wrote about the battle he witnessed.
Every nationality and race has been a slave. Only racist think it just for blacks !
Thank you for clearing up what the crazy left pushes
No!!! It's not! Why would you bother asking that question?
this video is misleading , for one, we know the song was not promoting unity because America had slaves! but racism is such a disease that you over look slaves as being human
The national anthem is races point blank.
So the answer is yes, it’s incredibly racist
You don't get to choose what's offensive to black people. This song is hella racist and offensive to black people. PERIOD!!
It used to be racist but it's now multicultural because someone went in there, & rewrote the lyrics as the original ones are racist & outdated.
Ugh, why do these people have to ruin everything 🙄 LEARN. HISTORY. ACCEPT. HISTORY. Srop acting like entitled brats throwing a fit over our national anthem and get a life, or get out 🇺🇸
sadly for you most if not all national anthems were made between wwI and wwII, in an very very militaristic racist type of nationalism phase…so they sound accordingly
Give me a damn break he's bragging about slaves having nowhere to hide and being afraid to run away. He goes on to be clear about the fact that if they resist they will know the Gloom of the grave. Nice try trying to cover up Satan's tracks
The gas lighting of MLK and the CR movement at the ending was trash. Completely misunderstood their reasoning for carrying the flag.
This song wasn't the National Anthem until 1931. I am not buying this video.
Did you notice that the song's flag has 15 red white stripes and not 13 like a normal flag?
Apparently, Professor Johnson was a believer in the old adage, “Never let the facts get in the way of your story.” Said another way,” when your only tool is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.”
never even thought of it but ofc not
Till today I still love Jimi Hendrix rendition of The Star Spangled Banner in 1969 Woodstock
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjzZh6-h9fM
Even if, for argument's sake, we granted that the third stanza was racist. Well… so what? We don't sing it. Nobody uses the song to inspire racism… just for bravery and celebrating freedom. So, even if the writer had racist intent with those lyrics, it doesn't make the song we sing today racist. It doesn't make Americans generally racist.
You know… before Nazi Germany, the swastika was a symbol used by Hindus and other to mean "well-being." But guess, what… I bet nobody who isn't an edge-lord or a nazi will decide to start sporting a swastika because of it's "original" meaning. We all understand that the meaning of that symbol has changed and nobody will take seriously claims that it still means "well-being."
So, even if the Star-spangled Banner song had racist origins, it's not what it is today. So, the song is NOT racist. Not in the world we live in.
But some people just looooove them a good excuse to pretend they've been victimized without ever actually having to suffer an actual victimization.
Of course many white folks don't care but the 3rd stanza is offensive to slaves .. Francis Scoot Key was also a prosecutor who pushed for the death penalty for a man who possessed anti-slavery abolitionist papers.
And the sad part about it , you all consider yourselves Christians
Here’s the answer “NO”
I LOVE these smart videos.
Being a slave owner still makes you a racist that’s the definition. There is no such thing as a good slave owner.
People thought it prompted unity when all these people owned slaves….what??
Lol, rhetorically used….slaves were real yet it is rhetorical. Dumb shiiit
Typical Prager U semantic misdirection. Key owned slaves; he was a member of an organization that advocated that 'free' blacks be expelled since they weren't contributing to the free forced labor pool or hadn't yet been kidnapped or otherwise forced into servitude; and even if his use of the term hireling and/or slave were more general than we might perceive, American forces actively discouraged blacks from serving, so even 'IF' the Colonial Marines weren't at the Battle of Ft. McHenry, they were still welcomed to serve by the British. Who would value loyalty to a system or government or individual that tolerated even the hint of actual or continuing slavery? Key was not honorable or charitable; he was an opportunistic hypocrite, just like most of the floundering fathers.
Marxists want to destroy America by using race.
That said. You anthem haters can piss off and leave
I think the star spangled banner is one of the most beautiful anthems.
In my country, most people hesitate to sing our anthem
If I say we should be proud of our anthem ,people regard me of radical patriot
But you American people sing so proudly
What’s a great thing
I do respect all of American who have patriot love
From Japan
Interesting in speaking of the colonial troops in the British Army they were not present in this operation and certainly would have had no role in a naval operation which is what Key witnessed and wrote about. Not only would there not be a land operation against the fort's physical location but most of the infantry were landing at North Point. The navy was attempting to bypass the fort in order to provide artillery support to the land operation east of the city from the inner harbor and to hamper the resupply attempts in case the fortifications east of the city were besieged by British troops as they were a considerable obstacle to an advance on the city just as were the fortifications at the Chalmette Field defending New Orleans four months later.
The second verse is demonstrably racist.
I’ve gotta say, the thumbnail pic was completely misleading; I came in expecting to hear him talk about kneeling during the anthem. Instead, it’s some dissertation on something that only serious scholars care about.
Nobody ever sings beyond the first stanza. The anthem ends quite nicely with "the land of the free, and the home of the brave".
I'm pretty sure that the British had also been capturing and forcing US sailors and others into British military to fight for them. When writing the verse this could've also included them since they were technically the slaves of the British military.
Haha it’s incredible to see how someone could justify this racist line with straight face
the hireling and slave were the British officers and the merchant sailors caught and forced into serving the British navy under the controversial practice called impressment.
Testing to see if PragerU got a black person to make a video about racism, 7/8