100 signatures reached
To: U.S. Congress, NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL, MLS
Change The National Anthem To "Lift Every Voice"
Change The National Anthem From "The Star Spangled Banner" to "Lift Every Voice".
Why is this important?
The song "Lift Every Voice" is a much more appropriate song to claim as the National Anthem. While many people love the "Star Spangled Banner", little do they know that the third verse of the song contains racist lyrics that celebrate slavery:
"And where is that band who so vauntingly
That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion
A home and a Country should leave us no more?
Their blood has wash’d out their foul footstep’s pollution.
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."
Not only does the third verse celebrate slavery, but the person who wrote the song (Francis Scott Key) was a racist lawyer who owned slaves. This may be mind-boggling, but these are facts. The National Anthem should be a non-controversal song that everyone can enjoy.
"And where is that band who so vauntingly
That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion
A home and a Country should leave us no more?
Their blood has wash’d out their foul footstep’s pollution.
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."
Not only does the third verse celebrate slavery, but the person who wrote the song (Francis Scott Key) was a racist lawyer who owned slaves. This may be mind-boggling, but these are facts. The National Anthem should be a non-controversal song that everyone can enjoy.