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Frances Scott Key, author of the
Star-Spangled Banner, our “National Anthem” was a
dyed-in-the-wool racist. He opined that “Negroes” were a
“distinct and inferior race.” He was a slaveholder from a
family of slaveholders who influenced the odious seventh President
Andrew Jackson to appoint Roger Taney, the author of the Dred Scott
decision (“Blacks have no rights that whites are bound to
respect”), to the Supreme Court. Aspects of the “National
Anthem” are derisive to Black people. Key disagreed that the
formerly enslaved who fought with the British in the War of 1812
should receive their freedom due to their service. The British kept
their word, settling formerly enslaved Blacks in the British
Caribbean on land they provided them. How, then, does the raving of a
racist become our nation’s national anthem, taught in every
school, played at every athletic event and assembly, and designed to
stir patriotic strings when we hear it?
When I hear the words, “land
of the free, home of the brave,” I think, “land of the
thief, home of the slave.” As early as 1836, abolitionists were
mocking the song, taking that offensive line and recasting it as “the
land of the free, home of the oppressed.” When you delve into
the lyrics, Key’s utter contempt for Black people, especially
those formerly enslaved people who claimed their freedom by fighting
with the Brits, was apparent. But the Daughters of the Confederacy
(surprise, surprise) were among those who thought this slave-deriding
song should be our national anthem. In doing so, they ensured that
generations of schoolchildren would never learn the truth about the
hypocrisy of their country, fighting for freedom against the Brits
while also fighting for the right to deny others freedom.
When Gwen Berry, the African
American athlete who has qualified for the 2020 Olympics, turned her
back on the American flag while the troublesome national anthem was
playing, she invited criticism for her actions and the paradox of the
African American reality in this nation. Berry said, “The
anthem doesn’t speak for me,” and giving voice to the
ambivalence that so many African American people feel about this
nation. We are disgusted by the injustice and hypocrisy woven into
every fabric of our lives, even as we experience and enjoy aspects of
progress and opportunity that distinguish our lives from those of our
enslaved foremothers and fathers. She turned her back and covered her
face with a t-shirt that said “activist athlete” in the
spirit of Frederick Douglas, who famously asked what the Fourth of
You Lie could mean to the Negro.
Generations have been taught the
Star-Spangled Banner without understanding its author or the meaning
of its lyrics. That the Daughters of the Confederacy championed it
ought to say enough. Since their inception in 1894, those women have
been determined to embrace the Southern “Lost Cause.”
Historically openly racist, they endorsed the Ku Klux Klan at their
1919 convention. They have supported or funded the erection of
statues and memorials to Confederate leaders. They have never refuted
their racist views, although they have had many opportunities to do
so in contemporary times. Their headquarters in Richmond, the cradle
of the confederacy, was damaged by fire last year as people protested
the massacre of George Floyd at the knee of Derek Chauvin. Their
ideology ought to be equally incinerated.
While many opposed the national
anthem, Woodrow Wilson, whose own racial views were questionable,
embraced the anthem. Still, it was not made official until the
passage of HR 14 in 1929. Before that, America the Beautiful (oh
beautiful, for gracious skies) was considered the national anthem.
The Ray Charles rendition, and his struggles to sing it in Georgia,
are more impactful emblems of “America” than the lyrics
of a slaveholder could ever be.
Gwen Berry said the anthem did not
speak for her, but it still seems to speak for so many of our fellow
citizens who mindlessly sing racist lyrics penned by a slaveholding
man. As long as this is our international calling card, so long as
this is the music that accompanies our athletic victories, we tell
our Black athletes that they are valued for their athleticism, but
not for their lives and for the injustices they experience. To force
someone to stand up and listen to that nonsense is to shove
patriotism down the throats of those who feel somewhat less than
patriotic. It is entirely possible to excel in one’s sport and
look askance at American hypocrisy.
Gwen Berry is one of a long line of
activist athletes. She deserves applause, not criticism. She says the
Star-Spangled Banner doesn’t speak for her. It doesn’t
speak for me either.
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