In his recent article, “Star-Spangled
Bigotry: The Hidden Racist History of
the National Anthem,” Jason
Johnson, political editor at The
Root, opined that “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.” Johnson points to the
documentary What So Proudly We Hail, to shed more light on the history some seem only too quick to bury.