Gabby & the Racist Secret Behind the National Anthem!

Last updated on: August 11, 2016 at 1:56 pm by Hakeem Muhammad

Gabby & the Racist Secret Behind the National Anthem! 2016-08-11T13:56:42-05:00 Hakeem Muhammad

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

gabbydouglass Gabby Douglas, a star African-American gymnast competing in the Olympics, recently ignited controversy for not placing her hand over her heart during the playing of the national anthem. Though Douglas issued an apology explaining it was out of negligence and not intentional, she continued to be subjected to widespread criticisms on social media.

Some inquired to to whether her National Anthem Stance was a Silent Black Lives Matter Protest and questioned her patriotism. What critics do not realize is that there is a long-standing, secret behind the United States’ national anthem that if revealed would clearly indicate that it is in fact Gabby Douglas who is deserving of an apology.

In Star Spangled Bigotry: The Hidden racist History of the National Anthem, Dr. Jason Johnson writes:

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.

In 1812 when the national anthem was written, Britain promised African-Americans freedom from slavery if they fought for their country instead of the United States. In response to this, the third verse of the national anthem issues a death threat to Black Americans who sought their freedom by defecting from the U.S: “No refuge could save the hireling and slave, From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave.” This death threat issued to Black Americans in the national anthem is fully consistent with the repugnant political views of Francis Scott Key who authored the Star Spangled Banner.

Key referred to black people as “a distinct and inferior race.” As an American lawyer, Francis Scott Key and his family had grown wealthy from slavery and he was a key participant in working to uphold the institution by persecuting abolitionists who fought to end the institution.

While Francis Scott Key repeatedly refers to America as the land of the free and the home of the brave, in How Blacks Built America: Labor, Culture, Freedom, and Democracy by Joe R. Feagin, he reveals a startling fact about the author of the National Anthem. Francis Scott Key “viewed the new nation as a slave holding republic of free white men.” When Black lives matter, we will not have people criticizing Gabby Douglass for not placing her hand on her heart during the national anthem. Instead, we would be focusing our criticisms on Francis Scott Key who unapologetically issued death threats to black American slaves seeking their freedom in that very song that later became the national anthem.

Wikimedia Commons. 4th Precinct Shutdown, Black Lives Matter Minneapolis

Can we craft a society in which black lives matter while continuing to have a national anthem written by Francis Scott Key?

Discuss Below.

Previous Post

August 9, 2016

Pauline Hanson's Islamophobia: A Black Muslim Response

Next Post

August 13, 2016 Bilal Ibn Rabah in the Black Religious Tradition

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Cultural Stories Hip-Hop Halaqas History Philosophy Self-Improvement Social Justice Uncategorized

Select a Month May 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who was Ruth's second husband?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Chilion Elimelech Boaz Mahlon