In support, Blues singer Leah Tysse, who is white, took a knee while singing the national anthem at the Sacramento Kings preseason game on Monday, October 10th, 2016. She reasoned that, "This act embodies the conflict many of us feel. I love and honor my country as deeply as anyone yet it is
my responsibility as an American to
speak up against injustice as it
affects my fellow Americans I
have sung the anthem before
but this time taking a knee felt
like the most patriotic thing I
could do. I cannot idly stand
by as black people are
unlawfully profiled, harassed
and killed by our law
enforcement over and over
and without a drop of
accountability.”
In opposition, army ranger
veteran, Dorian Majied stated, “To disrespect
the country that has afforded
him the opportunities and fortunes
he acquired is only made more
offensive by the fact that his life is the personification of the ideals I see in the American flag and National Anthem: a biracial child, raised by white parents, and who has accomplished much despite his 'oppression' in how many more nations around the world can a story like that come to fruition?"
So why the national anthem? A look back at history is a good place to start.
The Star Spangled Banner.
Originally called “The Defence of Fort McHenry,” the Star Spangled Banner was a poem written by Francis Scott Key in 1914. Later put to music to the tune of a popular English drinking tune, “To Anacreon in Heaven,” it would be 100 years before President Woodrow Wilson announced it should be played at all official events and often sang by his daughter Margaret. But it wasn’t until 1931 that the Star Spangled Banner would be declared our national anthem.
Leah Tysse - Photo by CSN Bay Area
Popular history teaches us that it was during the War of 1812 and esteemed attorney Francis Scott Key was on a British ship negotiating the release of his friend Dr. William Beanes. The British agreed, with the caveat that he would not be released until after they bombed Fort McHenry in Baltimore, Maryland. And so story goes that as dawn approached on September 14, 1814, after watching a grueling night of 25 hours straight bombing, he was so moved by the sight of a lone tattered American flag still blowing in the wind atop the fort in the distance, that he was inspired to pen the poem. Reading the words with this history in mind, I can’t help but feel pride like those on the battlefield and watching from afar must have felt that day.