Back in 2016, when he was a justice correspondent for the New York Daily News, black Muslim Shaun King wrote what he considered the most important column he'd ever written — he exposed the racism in the national anthem and explained why he’ll “never stand again for the Star Spangled Banner.” Most people only know the first verse … but did you know there's a third verse that mentions slavery? "Hireling and slave," to be precise. The Intercept picked up on the piece, despite plenty of people explaining to King that the line wasn't about African slaves at all — it referred to impressed British soldiers.
The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore was struck and destroyed early Tuesday morning by a cargo ship. The Associated Press thought that was a good time to inform us all about who Francis Scott Key was.
Who was Francis Scott Key, whose namesake bridge fell? His poem became 'The Star-Spangled Banner' https://t.co/Y5tMA75Dob
— The Associated Press (@AP) March 26, 2024
Deepti Hajela writes:
While the first verse of the anthem is the most well-known, there are a total of four stanzas; in the third, there’s a reference made to a slave. Key, whose family owned people and who owned enslaved people himself, supported the idea of sending free Black people to Africa but opposed the abolition of slavery in the U.S., according to the National Park Service’s Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine.
His personal history has made him a controversial figure in some quarters; in June 2020, a statue of him in San Francisco was taken down.
We remember reporting on a state of Key that had been vandalized, with "racist anthem" written in paint.
Only took 12 hours for “the bridge was racist” articles.
— brit (@pashedmotatos) March 26, 2024
Gearing up to rename the bridge already, are we?
— GumSlinger (@GumSlinger) March 26, 2024
Thanks for enlightening us on this obscure historical figure, AP pic.twitter.com/XTwbk3DG2X
— Enguerrand VII de Coucy (@ingelramdecoucy) March 26, 2024
At this point your “he was a racist” stories are on some file ready to simply insert a name, aren’t they?
— Bleu Cheque (@VERBAL_CHANCLA) March 26, 2024
Apparatchiks already positioning to rename it ‘The George Floyd Memorial Bridge’
— The Realest Realist (@ProGunMemes) March 26, 2024
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Do your followers actually not know who Francis Scott key is? If yes, is it because you taught them that "The Star-Spangled Banner" is racist?
— Matt Elliott (@MonarchosMatt) March 26, 2024
Took you longer than I expected for this.
— Jonathan Rafferty (@jraff24) March 26, 2024
You don't have to do this.
— El Skipito Bandito (@LordBarak) March 26, 2024
They can't help themselves. President Biden says the federal government is going to rebuild the bridge, and we're pretty certain there will be some sort of movement to rename it to something less racist.
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