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NCswag;9302111 said:En-Fuego22;9302104 said:NCswag;9302102 said:This paper bag colored nigga waits until he's benched to start acting up. He wants to get releases and get paid, not stand up for black folks. He did that shit like once last preseason, now he says he won't stop? Fuck outta here nigga.
Troll away
Stop believing bullshit niggas trying to throw shit on injustice and look at FSCTS. The 49ers were known to be shopping Colin around. They DON'T WANT HIM and his contract. So you magically wait until now to not respect the flag?This same shit been going on to black folks since his rookie year. Did he do that shit when he was fighting for a roster spot?Fuck no. But you can say I am trolling if you want to, it's cool l.
D. Morgan;9302129 said:NCswag;9302111 said:En-Fuego22;9302104 said:NCswag;9302102 said:This paper bag colored nigga waits until he's benched to start acting up. He wants to get releases and get paid, not stand up for black folks. He did that shit like once last preseason, now he says he won't stop? Fuck outta here nigga.
Troll away
Stop believing bullshit niggas trying to throw shit on injustice and look at FSCTS. The 49ers were known to be shopping Colin around. They DON'T WANT HIM and his contract. So you magically wait until now to not respect the flag?This same shit been going on to black folks since his rookie year. Did he do that shit when he was fighting for a roster spot?Fuck no. But you can say I am trolling if you want to, it's cool l.
Thats a dumb ass line of reasoning for calling what he's doing bullshit.
People grow and become more cognizant of things at different times in their lives. Right now might just be that time for him to go public with what he has been realizing for a while now. Kapernick even said that he had to become educated on everything that was happening before he went public with his stance. That makes a lot sense to me.
NCswag;9302111 said:En-Fuego22;9302104 said:NCswag;9302102 said:This paper bag colored nigga waits until he's benched to start acting up. He wants to get releases and get paid, not stand up for black folks. He did that shit like once last preseason, now he says he won't stop? Fuck outta here nigga.
Troll away
Stop believing bullshit niggas trying to throw shit on injustice and look at FSCTS. The 49ers were known to be shopping Colin around. They DON'T WANT HIM and his contract. So you magically wait until now to not respect the flag? This same shit been going on to black folks since his rookie year. Did he do that shit when he was fighting for a roster spot? Fuck no. But you can say I am trolling if you want to, it's cool l.
NCswag;9302130 said:D. Morgan;9302129 said:NCswag;9302111 said:En-Fuego22;9302104 said:NCswag;9302102 said:This paper bag colored nigga waits until he's benched to start acting up. He wants to get releases and get paid, not stand up for black folks. He did that shit like once last preseason, now he says he won't stop? Fuck outta here nigga.
Troll away
Stop believing bullshit niggas trying to throw shit on injustice and look at FSCTS. The 49ers were known to be shopping Colin around. They DON'T WANT HIM and his contract. So you magically wait until now to not respect the flag?This same shit been going on to black folks since his rookie year. Did he do that shit when he was fighting for a roster spot?Fuck no. But you can say I am trolling if you want to, it's cool l.
Thats a dumb ass line of reasoning for calling what he's doing bullshit.
People grow and become more cognizant of things at different times in their lives. Right now might just be that time for him to go public with what he has been realizing for a while now. Kapernick even said that he had to become educated on everything that was happening before he went public with his stance. That makes a lot sense to me.
I agree to disagree.
blackamerica;9302136 said:NCswag;9302111 said:En-Fuego22;9302104 said:NCswag;9302102 said:This paper bag colored nigga waits until he's benched to start acting up. He wants to get releases and get paid, not stand up for black folks. He did that shit like once last preseason, now he says he won't stop? Fuck outta here nigga.
Troll away
Stop believing bullshit niggas trying to throw shit on injustice and look at FSCTS. The 49ers were known to be shopping Colin around. They DON'T WANT HIM and his contract. So you magically wait until now to not respect the flag? This same shit been going on to black folks since his rookie year. Did he do that shit when he was fighting for a roster spot? Fuck no. But you can say I am trolling if you want to, it's cool l.
Coons gon coon
Dolphins Arian Foster on Colin Kaepernick: ‘I understand 100 percent what he’s doing’
Arian Foster knows all too well that racial profiling and police misconduct toward African Americans are real problems. He has experienced them.
Foster, the Dolphins running back, was barely a teenager when California cops pulled over his dad driving north on Interstate 5 between San Diego and Los Angeles.
“They told us to get out of the car, all of our clothes got pulled out of the bag and then said, ‘Y’all have a good day,’ ” Foster said. “Never told us why we were pulled over. I know my rights, but there are certain things you’re taught to do as a young man that won’t get you killed. Those are the confrontations that we have with police officers on a regular basis in our communities. And that’s what Colin Kaepernick is trying to portray.”
Kaepernick is the San Francisco 49ers quarterback who has refused to stand for the singing of the national anthem this preseason, an emotionally charged protest that has made him the target of national ridicule — and some praise — in recent days.
Kaepernick explained his reasoning to NFL.com: “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. To me, this is bigger than football, and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.”
Kaepernick’s pointed criticism of law enforcement has, of course, triggered a backlash. But not from Foster, who agreed with Kaepernick’s stand on the merits, if not his tactics.
Foster, who often spoke out on issues important to him while with the Houston Texans, including domestic violence and alcohol abuse, said he would not refuse to stand during the playing of the national anthem, but understands why Kaepernick did so.
“I don’t necessarily see that as a solution to anything,” Foster said. “This is me talking. This is Arian talking. If that’s what he felt, that’s his form of protest, I support his right to protest. Those are his thoughts, his opinions.”
Foster continued: “I understand 100 percent what he’s doing. He’s frustrated, just like me. He’s just like my brother. He’s just like my cousins out there. He’s frustrated. It’s hard seeing people get murdered and killed without repercussions.”
Foster’s No. 1 issue with the rash of police shootings is a lack of value granted to the lives lost. Cops who fire their service weapons are rarely prosecuted. And news outlets are quick to publish a mug shot and criminal record if the victim has one.
That angers Foster. And he won’t keep quiet about it. He spent much of Sunday engaging with dissenters on Twitter, including ex-Texans teammate T.J. Yates, who was critical of Kaepernick’s decision.
“I speak my mind,” Foster said. “I’m active in the communities. I try to educate young brothers that are in gangs and victims of what people don’t understand — this is a systemic problem that’s been going on for generations.
“If you think about it, Marvin Gaye had a great song, “Inner City Blues,” where he said ‘trigger-happy policing.’ That same sentiment is being said 40 years later. Is everybody crazy, or is something actually going on? I think that’s the dialogue that Colin Kaepernick is trying to get started. Would I not stand up for the pledge [of allegiance]? Me? No. I don’t see the correlation, in my opinion. But I understand what he’s doing. The backlash that he’s getting, that’s what I don’t understand. Sports have been used for protest for years.”
So what if a Dolphins player decided to use sports to protest?
Coach Adam Gase would generally be OK with it.
“Every guy’s got their position on certain things,” Gase said. “They’re able to express it in certain ways. There’s nothing that says they can’t do that. Our guys in our locker room, if they have certain stances they stand behind, then it’s not my right to say you can’t do that.”
Foster is one of those guys. “Racism is still alive” in the United States, he believes. And social media regularly makes his point. He’s received many tweets from people saying that if he doesn’t like this country, he can leave.
To that, he responded: “What do you mean? Where can I go? ... African Americans are the only people in America who don’t have a heritage, because of slavery. We’re descendants of genocide, and people don’t like to talk about that. It’s the truth. We’re the descendants of genocide. So when you say, ‘You can leave,’ where to? I don’t know where my people come from. Am I from the Congo? Am I from Kenya? Am I from the Ivory Coast?
“I have no idea where my lineage comes from, and that is a huge issue as to why there’s a self-identity crisis in our neighborhoods. We’re taught to hate ourselves for generations. And people are just quick to say, ‘Get over it. Get over it. Slavery happened a long time ago.’ I grew up in a domestically violent household. There are effects that I grew up with and had to deal with emotional issues growing up with domestic violence in my house. That’s one generation removed. Now here’s 300 years of slavery, you’ve seen your people get people, have them told you aren’t anything. Written in laws that they’re three-fifths a human being for 300 years. You’re telling me there’s no psychological effects that won’t trickle down in your bloodline? Of course there are. Until this country addresses is, this will happen.”
stringer bell;9302206 said:http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/nfl/miami-dolphins/article98495462.html
Dolphins Arian Foster on Colin Kaepernick: ‘I understand 100 percent what he’s doing’
Arian Foster knows all too well that racial profiling and police misconduct toward African Americans are real problems. He has experienced them.
Foster, the Dolphins running back, was barely a teenager when California cops pulled over his dad driving north on Interstate 5 between San Diego and Los Angeles.
“They told us to get out of the car, all of our clothes got pulled out of the bag and then said, ‘Y’all have a good day,’ ” Foster said. “Never told us why we were pulled over. I know my rights, but there are certain things you’re taught to do as a young man that won’t get you killed. Those are the confrontations that we have with police officers on a regular basis in our communities. And that’s what Colin Kaepernick is trying to portray.”
Kaepernick is the San Francisco 49ers quarterback who has refused to stand for the singing of the national anthem this preseason, an emotionally charged protest that has made him the target of national ridicule — and some praise — in recent days.
Kaepernick explained his reasoning to NFL.com: “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. To me, this is bigger than football, and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.”
Kaepernick’s pointed criticism of law enforcement has, of course, triggered a backlash. But not from Foster, who agreed with Kaepernick’s stand on the merits, if not his tactics.
Foster, who often spoke out on issues important to him while with the Houston Texans, including domestic violence and alcohol abuse, said he would not refuse to stand during the playing of the national anthem, but understands why Kaepernick did so.
“I don’t necessarily see that as a solution to anything,” Foster said. “This is me talking. This is Arian talking. If that’s what he felt, that’s his form of protest, I support his right to protest. Those are his thoughts, his opinions.”
Foster continued: “I understand 100 percent what he’s doing. He’s frustrated, just like me. He’s just like my brother. He’s just like my cousins out there. He’s frustrated. It’s hard seeing people get murdered and killed without repercussions.”
Foster’s No. 1 issue with the rash of police shootings is a lack of value granted to the lives lost. Cops who fire their service weapons are rarely prosecuted. And news outlets are quick to publish a mug shot and criminal record if the victim has one.
That angers Foster. And he won’t keep quiet about it. He spent much of Sunday engaging with dissenters on Twitter, including ex-Texans teammate T.J. Yates, who was critical of Kaepernick’s decision.
“I speak my mind,” Foster said. “I’m active in the communities. I try to educate young brothers that are in gangs and victims of what people don’t understand — this is a systemic problem that’s been going on for generations.
“If you think about it, Marvin Gaye had a great song, “Inner City Blues,” where he said ‘trigger-happy policing.’ That same sentiment is being said 40 years later. Is everybody crazy, or is something actually going on? I think that’s the dialogue that Colin Kaepernick is trying to get started. Would I not stand up for the pledge [of allegiance]? Me? No. I don’t see the correlation, in my opinion. But I understand what he’s doing. The backlash that he’s getting, that’s what I don’t understand. Sports have been used for protest for years.”
So what if a Dolphins player decided to use sports to protest?
Coach Adam Gase would generally be OK with it.
“Every guy’s got their position on certain things,” Gase said. “They’re able to express it in certain ways. There’s nothing that says they can’t do that. Our guys in our locker room, if they have certain stances they stand behind, then it’s not my right to say you can’t do that.”
Foster is one of those guys. “Racism is still alive” in the United States, he believes. And social media regularly makes his point. He’s received many tweets from people saying that if he doesn’t like this country, he can leave.
To that, he responded: “What do you mean? Where can I go? ... African Americans are the only people in America who don’t have a heritage, because of slavery. We’re descendants of genocide, and people don’t like to talk about that. It’s the truth. We’re the descendants of genocide. So when you say, ‘You can leave,’ where to? I don’t know where my people come from. Am I from the Congo? Am I from Kenya? Am I from the Ivory Coast?
“I have no idea where my lineage comes from, and that is a huge issue as to why there’s a self-identity crisis in our neighborhoods. We’re taught to hate ourselves for generations. And people are just quick to say, ‘Get over it. Get over it. Slavery happened a long time ago.’ I grew up in a domestically violent household. There are effects that I grew up with and had to deal with emotional issues growing up with domestic violence in my house. That’s one generation removed. Now here’s 300 years of slavery, you’ve seen your people get people, have them told you aren’t anything. Written in laws that they’re three-fifths a human being for 300 years. You’re telling me there’s no psychological effects that won’t trickle down in your bloodline? Of course there are. Until this country addresses is, this will happen.”
stringer bell;9302206 said:http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/nfl/miami-dolphins/article98495462.html
Dolphins Arian Foster on Colin Kaepernick: ‘I understand 100 percent what he’s doing’
Arian Foster knows all too well that racial profiling and police misconduct toward African Americans are real problems. He has experienced them.
Foster, the Dolphins running back, was barely a teenager when California cops pulled over his dad driving north on Interstate 5 between San Diego and Los Angeles.
“They told us to get out of the car, all of our clothes got pulled out of the bag and then said, ‘Y’all have a good day,’ ” Foster said. “Never told us why we were pulled over. I know my rights, but there are certain things you’re taught to do as a young man that won’t get you killed. Those are the confrontations that we have with police officers on a regular basis in our communities. And that’s what Colin Kaepernick is trying to portray.”
Kaepernick is the San Francisco 49ers quarterback who has refused to stand for the singing of the national anthem this preseason, an emotionally charged protest that has made him the target of national ridicule — and some praise — in recent days.
Kaepernick explained his reasoning to NFL.com: “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. To me, this is bigger than football, and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.”
Kaepernick’s pointed criticism of law enforcement has, of course, triggered a backlash. But not from Foster, who agreed with Kaepernick’s stand on the merits, if not his tactics.
Foster, who often spoke out on issues important to him while with the Houston Texans, including domestic violence and alcohol abuse, said he would not refuse to stand during the playing of the national anthem, but understands why Kaepernick did so.
“I don’t necessarily see that as a solution to anything,” Foster said. “This is me talking. This is Arian talking. If that’s what he felt, that’s his form of protest, I support his right to protest. Those are his thoughts, his opinions.”
Foster continued: “I understand 100 percent what he’s doing. He’s frustrated, just like me. He’s just like my brother. He’s just like my cousins out there. He’s frustrated. It’s hard seeing people get murdered and killed without repercussions.”
Foster’s No. 1 issue with the rash of police shootings is a lack of value granted to the lives lost. Cops who fire their service weapons are rarely prosecuted. And news outlets are quick to publish a mug shot and criminal record if the victim has one.
That angers Foster. And he won’t keep quiet about it. He spent much of Sunday engaging with dissenters on Twitter, including ex-Texans teammate T.J. Yates, who was critical of Kaepernick’s decision.
“I speak my mind,” Foster said. “I’m active in the communities. I try to educate young brothers that are in gangs and victims of what people don’t understand — this is a systemic problem that’s been going on for generations.
“If you think about it, Marvin Gaye had a great song, “Inner City Blues,” where he said ‘trigger-happy policing.’ That same sentiment is being said 40 years later. Is everybody crazy, or is something actually going on? I think that’s the dialogue that Colin Kaepernick is trying to get started. Would I not stand up for the pledge [of allegiance]? Me? No. I don’t see the correlation, in my opinion. But I understand what he’s doing. The backlash that he’s getting, that’s what I don’t understand. Sports have been used for protest for years.”
So what if a Dolphins player decided to use sports to protest?
Coach Adam Gase would generally be OK with it.
“Every guy’s got their position on certain things,” Gase said. “They’re able to express it in certain ways. There’s nothing that says they can’t do that. Our guys in our locker room, if they have certain stances they stand behind, then it’s not my right to say you can’t do that.”
Foster is one of those guys. “Racism is still alive” in the United States, he believes. And social media regularly makes his point. He’s received many tweets from people saying that if he doesn’t like this country, he can leave.
To that, he responded: “What do you mean? Where can I go? ... African Americans are the only people in America who don’t have a heritage, because of slavery. We’re descendants of genocide, and people don’t like to talk about that. It’s the truth. We’re the descendants of genocide. So when you say, ‘You can leave,’ where to? I don’t know where my people come from. Am I from the Congo? Am I from Kenya? Am I from the Ivory Coast?
“I have no idea where my lineage comes from, and that is a huge issue as to why there’s a self-identity crisis in our neighborhoods. We’re taught to hate ourselves for generations. And people are just quick to say, ‘Get over it. Get over it. Slavery happened a long time ago.’ I grew up in a domestically violent household. There are effects that I grew up with and had to deal with emotional issues growing up with domestic violence in my house. That’s one generation removed. Now here’s 300 years of slavery, you’ve seen your people get people, have them told you aren’t anything. Written in laws that they’re three-fifths a human being for 300 years. You’re telling me there’s no psychological effects that won’t trickle down in your bloodline? Of course there are. Until this country addresses is, this will happen.”
Arya Tsaddiq;9302282 said:I dont know if this has been posted or not...
http://www.theroot.com/articles/his...hidden-racist-history-of-the-national-anthem/
Star-Spangled Bigotry: The Hidden Racist History of the National Anthem
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. “God Bless America”? More people know the Rev. Jeremiah Wright remix than the actual full lyrics of the song. 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. 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. 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.
“The Star-Spangled Banner,” as most Americans know it, is only a couple of lines. In fact, if you look up the song on Google, only the most famous lyrics pop up on Page 1:
Oh say can you see,
By the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hailed,
At the twilight’s last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars,
Through the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watched,
Were so gallantly streaming.
And thy rocket’s red glare,
Thy bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through thee night,
That our flag was still there.
Oh say does that star spangled banner yet wave,
O’er the land of the free, and the home of the brave.
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. 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.
To understand the full “Star-Spangled Banner” story, you have to understand the author. Key was an aristocrat and city prosecutor in Washington, D.C. 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. 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.
Of particular note was Key’s opposition to the idea of the Colonial Marines. The Marines were a battalion of runaway slaves who joined with the British Royal Army in exchange for their freedom. The Marines were not only a terrifying example of what slaves would do if given the chance, but also a repudiation of the white superiority that men like Key were so invested in.
All of these ideas and concepts came together around Aug. 24, 1815, at the Battle of Bladensburg, where Key, who was serving as a lieutenant at the time, ran into a battalion of Colonial Marines. His troops were taken to the woodshed by the very black folks he disdained, and he fled back to his home in Georgetown to lick his wounds. The British troops, emboldened by their victory in Bladensburg, then marched into Washington, D.C., burning the Library of Congress, the Capitol Building and the White House. You can imagine that Key was very much in his feelings seeing black soldiers trampling on the city he so desperately loved.
A few weeks later, in September of 1815, far from being a captive, Key was on a British boat begging for the release of one of his friends, a doctor named William Beanes. Key was on the boat waiting to see if the British would release his friend when he observed the bloody battle of Fort McHenry in Baltimore on Sept. 13, 1815. America lost the battle but managed to inflict heavy casualties on the British in the process. This inspired Key to write “The Star-Spangled Banner” right then and there, but no one remembers that he wrote a full third stanza decrying the former slaves who were now working for the British army:
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore,
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.
In other words, Key was saying that the blood of all the former slaves and “hirelings” on the battlefield will wash away the pollution of the British invaders. With Key still bitter that some black soldiers got the best of him a few weeks earlier, “The Star-Spangled Banner” is as much a patriotic song as it is a diss track to black people who had the audacity to fight for their freedom. Perhaps that’s why it took almost 100 years for the song to become the national anthem.
To hear more of the story, there is an excellent short documentary about the history of “The Star-Spangled Banner” by some students at Morgan State University. In the meantime, it might be a good idea to switch up your Fourth of July patriotic playlist.
Jason Johnson, Political Editor at The Root, is a professor of Political Science at Morgan State's School of Global Journalism and Communications and is a frequent guest on MSNBC, CNN, Al Jazeera International, Fox Business News and SIRIUS XM Satellite Radio. Follow him on Twitter.
Kap is real for what he is doing.
VulcanRaven;9302307 said:Arya Tsaddiq;9302282 said:I dont know if this has been posted or not...
http://www.theroot.com/articles/his...hidden-racist-history-of-the-national-anthem/
Star-Spangled Bigotry: The Hidden Racist History of the National Anthem
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. “God Bless America”? More people know the Rev. Jeremiah Wright remix than the actual full lyrics of the song. 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. 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. 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.
“The Star-Spangled Banner,” as most Americans know it, is only a couple of lines. In fact, if you look up the song on Google, only the most famous lyrics pop up on Page 1:
Oh say can you see,
By the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hailed,
At the twilight’s last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars,
Through the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watched,
Were so gallantly streaming.
And thy rocket’s red glare,
Thy bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through thee night,
That our flag was still there.
Oh say does that star spangled banner yet wave,
O’er the land of the free, and the home of the brave.
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. 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.
To understand the full “Star-Spangled Banner” story, you have to understand the author. Key was an aristocrat and city prosecutor in Washington, D.C. 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. 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.
Of particular note was Key’s opposition to the idea of the Colonial Marines. The Marines were a battalion of runaway slaves who joined with the British Royal Army in exchange for their freedom. The Marines were not only a terrifying example of what slaves would do if given the chance, but also a repudiation of the white superiority that men like Key were so invested in.
All of these ideas and concepts came together around Aug. 24, 1815, at the Battle of Bladensburg, where Key, who was serving as a lieutenant at the time, ran into a battalion of Colonial Marines. His troops were taken to the woodshed by the very black folks he disdained, and he fled back to his home in Georgetown to lick his wounds. The British troops, emboldened by their victory in Bladensburg, then marched into Washington, D.C., burning the Library of Congress, the Capitol Building and the White House. You can imagine that Key was very much in his feelings seeing black soldiers trampling on the city he so desperately loved.
A few weeks later, in September of 1815, far from being a captive, Key was on a British boat begging for the release of one of his friends, a doctor named William Beanes. Key was on the boat waiting to see if the British would release his friend when he observed the bloody battle of Fort McHenry in Baltimore on Sept. 13, 1815. America lost the battle but managed to inflict heavy casualties on the British in the process. This inspired Key to write “The Star-Spangled Banner” right then and there, but no one remembers that he wrote a full third stanza decrying the former slaves who were now working for the British army:
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore,
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.
In other words, Key was saying that the blood of all the former slaves and “hirelings” on the battlefield will wash away the pollution of the British invaders. With Key still bitter that some black soldiers got the best of him a few weeks earlier, “The Star-Spangled Banner” is as much a patriotic song as it is a diss track to black people who had the audacity to fight for their freedom. Perhaps that’s why it took almost 100 years for the song to become the national anthem.
To hear more of the story, there is an excellent short documentary about the history of “The Star-Spangled Banner” by some students at Morgan State University. In the meantime, it might be a good idea to switch up your Fourth of July patriotic playlist.
Jason Johnson, Political Editor at The Root, is a professor of Political Science at Morgan State's School of Global Journalism and Communications and is a frequent guest on MSNBC, CNN, Al Jazeera International, Fox Business News and SIRIUS XM Satellite Radio. Follow him on Twitter.
Kap is real for what he is doing.
This also proves that Christianity is bullshit and no black person should be following that faith. The fuck is Christian kindness?
Arya Tsaddiq;9302312 said:VulcanRaven;9302307 said:Arya Tsaddiq;9302282 said:I dont know if this has been posted or not...
http://www.theroot.com/articles/his...hidden-racist-history-of-the-national-anthem/
Star-Spangled Bigotry: The Hidden Racist History of the National Anthem
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. “God Bless America”? More people know the Rev. Jeremiah Wright remix than the actual full lyrics of the song. 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. 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. 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.
“The Star-Spangled Banner,” as most Americans know it, is only a couple of lines. In fact, if you look up the song on Google, only the most famous lyrics pop up on Page 1:
Oh say can you see,
By the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hailed,
At the twilight’s last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars,
Through the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watched,
Were so gallantly streaming.
And thy rocket’s red glare,
Thy bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through thee night,
That our flag was still there.
Oh say does that star spangled banner yet wave,
O’er the land of the free, and the home of the brave.
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. 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.
To understand the full “Star-Spangled Banner” story, you have to understand the author. Key was an aristocrat and city prosecutor in Washington, D.C. 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. 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.
Of particular note was Key’s opposition to the idea of the Colonial Marines. The Marines were a battalion of runaway slaves who joined with the British Royal Army in exchange for their freedom. The Marines were not only a terrifying example of what slaves would do if given the chance, but also a repudiation of the white superiority that men like Key were so invested in.
All of these ideas and concepts came together around Aug. 24, 1815, at the Battle of Bladensburg, where Key, who was serving as a lieutenant at the time, ran into a battalion of Colonial Marines. His troops were taken to the woodshed by the very black folks he disdained, and he fled back to his home in Georgetown to lick his wounds. The British troops, emboldened by their victory in Bladensburg, then marched into Washington, D.C., burning the Library of Congress, the Capitol Building and the White House. You can imagine that Key was very much in his feelings seeing black soldiers trampling on the city he so desperately loved.
A few weeks later, in September of 1815, far from being a captive, Key was on a British boat begging for the release of one of his friends, a doctor named William Beanes. Key was on the boat waiting to see if the British would release his friend when he observed the bloody battle of Fort McHenry in Baltimore on Sept. 13, 1815. America lost the battle but managed to inflict heavy casualties on the British in the process. This inspired Key to write “The Star-Spangled Banner” right then and there, but no one remembers that he wrote a full third stanza decrying the former slaves who were now working for the British army:
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore,
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.
In other words, Key was saying that the blood of all the former slaves and “hirelings” on the battlefield will wash away the pollution of the British invaders. With Key still bitter that some black soldiers got the best of him a few weeks earlier, “The Star-Spangled Banner” is as much a patriotic song as it is a diss track to black people who had the audacity to fight for their freedom. Perhaps that’s why it took almost 100 years for the song to become the national anthem.
To hear more of the story, there is an excellent short documentary about the history of “The Star-Spangled Banner” by some students at Morgan State University. In the meantime, it might be a good idea to switch up your Fourth of July patriotic playlist.
Jason Johnson, Political Editor at The Root, is a professor of Political Science at Morgan State's School of Global Journalism and Communications and is a frequent guest on MSNBC, CNN, Al Jazeera International, Fox Business News and SIRIUS XM Satellite Radio. Follow him on Twitter.
Kap is real for what he is doing.
This also proves that Christianity is bullshit and no black person should be following that faith. The fuck is Christian kindness?
It's amazing that with everything mentioned in that article that's what you decided to zero in on smh...
VulcanRaven;9302326 said:Arya Tsaddiq;9302312 said:VulcanRaven;9302307 said:Arya Tsaddiq;9302282 said:I dont know if this has been posted or not...
http://www.theroot.com/articles/his...hidden-racist-history-of-the-national-anthem/
Star-Spangled Bigotry: The Hidden Racist History of the National Anthem
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. “God Bless America”? More people know the Rev. Jeremiah Wright remix than the actual full lyrics of the song. 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. 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. 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.
“The Star-Spangled Banner,” as most Americans know it, is only a couple of lines. In fact, if you look up the song on Google, only the most famous lyrics pop up on Page 1:
Oh say can you see,
By the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hailed,
At the twilight’s last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars,
Through the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watched,
Were so gallantly streaming.
And thy rocket’s red glare,
Thy bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through thee night,
That our flag was still there.
Oh say does that star spangled banner yet wave,
O’er the land of the free, and the home of the brave.
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. 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.
To understand the full “Star-Spangled Banner” story, you have to understand the author. Key was an aristocrat and city prosecutor in Washington, D.C. 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. 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.
Of particular note was Key’s opposition to the idea of the Colonial Marines. The Marines were a battalion of runaway slaves who joined with the British Royal Army in exchange for their freedom. The Marines were not only a terrifying example of what slaves would do if given the chance, but also a repudiation of the white superiority that men like Key were so invested in.
All of these ideas and concepts came together around Aug. 24, 1815, at the Battle of Bladensburg, where Key, who was serving as a lieutenant at the time, ran into a battalion of Colonial Marines. His troops were taken to the woodshed by the very black folks he disdained, and he fled back to his home in Georgetown to lick his wounds. The British troops, emboldened by their victory in Bladensburg, then marched into Washington, D.C., burning the Library of Congress, the Capitol Building and the White House. You can imagine that Key was very much in his feelings seeing black soldiers trampling on the city he so desperately loved.
A few weeks later, in September of 1815, far from being a captive, Key was on a British boat begging for the release of one of his friends, a doctor named William Beanes. Key was on the boat waiting to see if the British would release his friend when he observed the bloody battle of Fort McHenry in Baltimore on Sept. 13, 1815. America lost the battle but managed to inflict heavy casualties on the British in the process. This inspired Key to write “The Star-Spangled Banner” right then and there, but no one remembers that he wrote a full third stanza decrying the former slaves who were now working for the British army:
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore,
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.
In other words, Key was saying that the blood of all the former slaves and “hirelings” on the battlefield will wash away the pollution of the British invaders. With Key still bitter that some black soldiers got the best of him a few weeks earlier, “The Star-Spangled Banner” is as much a patriotic song as it is a diss track to black people who had the audacity to fight for their freedom. Perhaps that’s why it took almost 100 years for the song to become the national anthem.
To hear more of the story, there is an excellent short documentary about the history of “The Star-Spangled Banner” by some students at Morgan State University. In the meantime, it might be a good idea to switch up your Fourth of July patriotic playlist.
Jason Johnson, Political Editor at The Root, is a professor of Political Science at Morgan State's School of Global Journalism and Communications and is a frequent guest on MSNBC, CNN, Al Jazeera International, Fox Business News and SIRIUS XM Satellite Radio. Follow him on Twitter.
Kap is real for what he is doing.
This also proves that Christianity is bullshit and no black person should be following that faith. The fuck is Christian kindness?
It's amazing that with everything mentioned in that article that's what you decided to zero in on smh...
I read the whole thing but that is a part of the oppression that people seem to ignore. That is also a larger issue as the National Anthem is just a song, while Christianity speaks to mental slavery.
VulcanRaven;9302326 said:Arya Tsaddiq;9302312 said:VulcanRaven;9302307 said:Arya Tsaddiq;9302282 said:I dont know if this has been posted or not...
http://www.theroot.com/articles/his...hidden-racist-history-of-the-national-anthem/
Star-Spangled Bigotry: The Hidden Racist History of the National Anthem
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. “God Bless America”? More people know the Rev. Jeremiah Wright remix than the actual full lyrics of the song. 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. 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. 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.
“The Star-Spangled Banner,” as most Americans know it, is only a couple of lines. In fact, if you look up the song on Google, only the most famous lyrics pop up on Page 1:
Oh say can you see,
By the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hailed,
At the twilight’s last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars,
Through the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watched,
Were so gallantly streaming.
And thy rocket’s red glare,
Thy bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through thee night,
That our flag was still there.
Oh say does that star spangled banner yet wave,
O’er the land of the free, and the home of the brave.
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. 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.
To understand the full “Star-Spangled Banner” story, you have to understand the author. Key was an aristocrat and city prosecutor in Washington, D.C. 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. 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.
Of particular note was Key’s opposition to the idea of the Colonial Marines. The Marines were a battalion of runaway slaves who joined with the British Royal Army in exchange for their freedom. The Marines were not only a terrifying example of what slaves would do if given the chance, but also a repudiation of the white superiority that men like Key were so invested in.
All of these ideas and concepts came together around Aug. 24, 1815, at the Battle of Bladensburg, where Key, who was serving as a lieutenant at the time, ran into a battalion of Colonial Marines. His troops were taken to the woodshed by the very black folks he disdained, and he fled back to his home in Georgetown to lick his wounds. The British troops, emboldened by their victory in Bladensburg, then marched into Washington, D.C., burning the Library of Congress, the Capitol Building and the White House. You can imagine that Key was very much in his feelings seeing black soldiers trampling on the city he so desperately loved.
A few weeks later, in September of 1815, far from being a captive, Key was on a British boat begging for the release of one of his friends, a doctor named William Beanes. Key was on the boat waiting to see if the British would release his friend when he observed the bloody battle of Fort McHenry in Baltimore on Sept. 13, 1815. America lost the battle but managed to inflict heavy casualties on the British in the process. This inspired Key to write “The Star-Spangled Banner” right then and there, but no one remembers that he wrote a full third stanza decrying the former slaves who were now working for the British army:
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore,
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.
In other words, Key was saying that the blood of all the former slaves and “hirelings” on the battlefield will wash away the pollution of the British invaders. With Key still bitter that some black soldiers got the best of him a few weeks earlier, “The Star-Spangled Banner” is as much a patriotic song as it is a diss track to black people who had the audacity to fight for their freedom. Perhaps that’s why it took almost 100 years for the song to become the national anthem.
To hear more of the story, there is an excellent short documentary about the history of “The Star-Spangled Banner” by some students at Morgan State University. In the meantime, it might be a good idea to switch up your Fourth of July patriotic playlist.
Jason Johnson, Political Editor at The Root, is a professor of Political Science at Morgan State's School of Global Journalism and Communications and is a frequent guest on MSNBC, CNN, Al Jazeera International, Fox Business News and SIRIUS XM Satellite Radio. Follow him on Twitter.
Kap is real for what he is doing.
This also proves that Christianity is bullshit and no black person should be following that faith. The fuck is Christian kindness?
It's amazing that with everything mentioned in that article that's what you decided to zero in on smh...
I read the whole thing but that is a part of the oppression that people seem to ignore. That is also a larger issue as the National Anthem is just a song, while Christianity speaks to mental slavery.
ThaNubianGod;9302346 said:VulcanRaven;9302326 said:Arya Tsaddiq;9302312 said:VulcanRaven;9302307 said:Arya Tsaddiq;9302282 said:I dont know if this has been posted or not...
http://www.theroot.com/articles/his...hidden-racist-history-of-the-national-anthem/
Star-Spangled Bigotry: The Hidden Racist History of the National Anthem
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. “God Bless America”? More people know the Rev. Jeremiah Wright remix than the actual full lyrics of the song. 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. 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. 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.
“The Star-Spangled Banner,” as most Americans know it, is only a couple of lines. In fact, if you look up the song on Google, only the most famous lyrics pop up on Page 1:
Oh say can you see,
By the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hailed,
At the twilight’s last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars,
Through the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watched,
Were so gallantly streaming.
And thy rocket’s red glare,
Thy bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through thee night,
That our flag was still there.
Oh say does that star spangled banner yet wave,
O’er the land of the free, and the home of the brave.
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. 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.
To understand the full “Star-Spangled Banner” story, you have to understand the author. Key was an aristocrat and city prosecutor in Washington, D.C. 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. 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.
Of particular note was Key’s opposition to the idea of the Colonial Marines. The Marines were a battalion of runaway slaves who joined with the British Royal Army in exchange for their freedom. The Marines were not only a terrifying example of what slaves would do if given the chance, but also a repudiation of the white superiority that men like Key were so invested in.
All of these ideas and concepts came together around Aug. 24, 1815, at the Battle of Bladensburg, where Key, who was serving as a lieutenant at the time, ran into a battalion of Colonial Marines. His troops were taken to the woodshed by the very black folks he disdained, and he fled back to his home in Georgetown to lick his wounds. The British troops, emboldened by their victory in Bladensburg, then marched into Washington, D.C., burning the Library of Congress, the Capitol Building and the White House. You can imagine that Key was very much in his feelings seeing black soldiers trampling on the city he so desperately loved.
A few weeks later, in September of 1815, far from being a captive, Key was on a British boat begging for the release of one of his friends, a doctor named William Beanes. Key was on the boat waiting to see if the British would release his friend when he observed the bloody battle of Fort McHenry in Baltimore on Sept. 13, 1815. America lost the battle but managed to inflict heavy casualties on the British in the process. This inspired Key to write “The Star-Spangled Banner” right then and there, but no one remembers that he wrote a full third stanza decrying the former slaves who were now working for the British army:
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore,
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.
In other words, Key was saying that the blood of all the former slaves and “hirelings” on the battlefield will wash away the pollution of the British invaders. With Key still bitter that some black soldiers got the best of him a few weeks earlier, “The Star-Spangled Banner” is as much a patriotic song as it is a diss track to black people who had the audacity to fight for their freedom. Perhaps that’s why it took almost 100 years for the song to become the national anthem.
To hear more of the story, there is an excellent short documentary about the history of “The Star-Spangled Banner” by some students at Morgan State University. In the meantime, it might be a good idea to switch up your Fourth of July patriotic playlist.
Jason Johnson, Political Editor at The Root, is a professor of Political Science at Morgan State's School of Global Journalism and Communications and is a frequent guest on MSNBC, CNN, Al Jazeera International, Fox Business News and SIRIUS XM Satellite Radio. Follow him on Twitter.
Kap is real for what he is doing.
This also proves that Christianity is bullshit and no black person should be following that faith. The fuck is Christian kindness?
It's amazing that with everything mentioned in that article that's what you decided to zero in on smh...
I read the whole thing but that is a part of the oppression that people seem to ignore. That is also a larger issue as the National Anthem is just a song, while Christianity speaks to mental slavery.
All religions are mental slavery.
TheGOAT;9302200 said:My girl said we should cop our son a Kaepernick jersey now that people out here burning them.
Cost $60 for a fuckin XS preschool jersey
NFL trippin on those prices
Maybe we will grab a tshirt
VulcanRaven;9302307 said:Arya Tsaddiq;9302282 said:I dont know if this has been posted or not...
http://www.theroot.com/articles/his...hidden-racist-history-of-the-national-anthem/
Star-Spangled Bigotry: The Hidden Racist History of the National Anthem
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. “God Bless America”? More people know the Rev. Jeremiah Wright remix than the actual full lyrics of the song. 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. 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. 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.
“The Star-Spangled Banner,” as most Americans know it, is only a couple of lines. In fact, if you look up the song on Google, only the most famous lyrics pop up on Page 1:
Oh say can you see,
By the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hailed,
At the twilight’s last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars,
Through the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watched,
Were so gallantly streaming.
And thy rocket’s red glare,
Thy bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through thee night,
That our flag was still there.
Oh say does that star spangled banner yet wave,
O’er the land of the free, and the home of the brave.
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. 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.
To understand the full “Star-Spangled Banner” story, you have to understand the author. Key was an aristocrat and city prosecutor in Washington, D.C. 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. 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.
Of particular note was Key’s opposition to the idea of the Colonial Marines. The Marines were a battalion of runaway slaves who joined with the British Royal Army in exchange for their freedom. The Marines were not only a terrifying example of what slaves would do if given the chance, but also a repudiation of the white superiority that men like Key were so invested in.
All of these ideas and concepts came together around Aug. 24, 1815, at the Battle of Bladensburg, where Key, who was serving as a lieutenant at the time, ran into a battalion of Colonial Marines. His troops were taken to the woodshed by the very black folks he disdained, and he fled back to his home in Georgetown to lick his wounds. The British troops, emboldened by their victory in Bladensburg, then marched into Washington, D.C., burning the Library of Congress, the Capitol Building and the White House. You can imagine that Key was very much in his feelings seeing black soldiers trampling on the city he so desperately loved.
A few weeks later, in September of 1815, far from being a captive, Key was on a British boat begging for the release of one of his friends, a doctor named William Beanes. Key was on the boat waiting to see if the British would release his friend when he observed the bloody battle of Fort McHenry in Baltimore on Sept. 13, 1815. America lost the battle but managed to inflict heavy casualties on the British in the process. This inspired Key to write “The Star-Spangled Banner” right then and there, but no one remembers that he wrote a full third stanza decrying the former slaves who were now working for the British army:
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore,
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.
In other words, Key was saying that the blood of all the former slaves and “hirelings” on the battlefield will wash away the pollution of the British invaders. With Key still bitter that some black soldiers got the best of him a few weeks earlier, “The Star-Spangled Banner” is as much a patriotic song as it is a diss track to black people who had the audacity to fight for their freedom. Perhaps that’s why it took almost 100 years for the song to become the national anthem.
To hear more of the story, there is an excellent short documentary about the history of “The Star-Spangled Banner” by some students at Morgan State University. In the meantime, it might be a good idea to switch up your Fourth of July patriotic playlist.
Jason Johnson, Political Editor at The Root, is a professor of Political Science at Morgan State's School of Global Journalism and Communications and is a frequent guest on MSNBC, CNN, Al Jazeera International, Fox Business News and SIRIUS XM Satellite Radio. Follow him on Twitter.
Kap is real for what he is doing.
This also proves that Christianity is bullshit and no black person should be following that faith. The fuck is Christian kindness?