The Connection Between Civil Rights and the Star Spangled Banner
Colin Kaepernick began sitting for the anthem to protest racial inequality and police brutality. Ironically, if he had understood how the anthem supported civil rights through the years, he might have chosen to protest differently.
THE BEGINNING - America's struggle for independence from England did not end in 1776. It was won incrementally over many years and nearly lost during the War of 1812.
In August of 1814 the British army marched into Washington DC and set fire to the capitol building and White House. Their next target was the vital seaport of Baltimore whose harbor was protected by Fort McHenry. If it fell, the future of our new nation would be in doubt.
The entire British fleet assembled off shore and bombarded Fort McHenry with canons and rockets for 25 hours. Francis Scott Key, an American lawyer and amateur poet had gone aboard a British warship to negotiate a prisoner exchange when the bombardment began and remained on board all night. "By dawn's early light" Key could see British ships leaving the harbor as an American flag continued to waive above the fort. He realized the fort--and by extension the United States itself--had survived and was inspired to write the words that became the lyrics to The Star Spangled Banner.
Though it was written in 1814, the song did not officially become our national anthem until more than a century later. By executive order in 1916, Woodrow Wilson designated the song as the anthem of the United States for military services. Then, on March 3, 1931, Congress finally passed a measure that made the Star Spangled Banner the national anthem of the United States.
In the years between 1814 and today, the song has has been embraced by those who fought to end racial injustice in its various forms.
CIVIL WAR - During the civil war the Star Spangled Banner was the anthem for Union troops. According to the Smithsonian, “For Northerners the song stood for American ideals. With the abolition of slavery and the opening of the Union ranks to black soldiers, many African Americans saw the flag in a new light, as a symbol of freedom and the promise of citizenship.”
WWII - World War II was an effort to defend and preserve American values against the forces of totalitarianism. The anthem and flag were seen as symbols of that struggle.
But there was an unsettling contradiction because of the realities of racism and inequality at home where Japanese Americans were held in interment camps and American soldiers served in racially segregated units but fought under the same flag.
"During the war," according to the Smithsonian, "African Americans and other minority groups used the Star-Spangled Banner not only to convey their patriotism, but to call attention to these injustices and claim their equal rights as American citizens." Rather than blaming a nation for the misdeeds of a few by disrespecting the anthem, African Americans smartly leveraged a nation's patriotism to correct racial injustice by holding everyone accountable to the American ideals the anthem symbolized.
NINETEEN SIXTIES - During this decade, civil rights activists carried the American flag to pressure the nation to live up to its ideals of freedom and equality. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “All we say to America is, be true to what you said on paper.” And, "I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed; we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal." Dr. King saw the flag and anthem as symbols of American ideals--anchors to stabilize a citizenry whenever it threatened to drift away.
WHY I STAND - America stands for liberty, self-government, equality, individualism, diversity and unity. When we stand for the anthem we are standing for those principles and those who came before us and sacrificed to restore or preserve them. Whether they fought British tyranny at Fort McHenry, Nazi tyranny abroad or the evils of racism here at home, they were fighting for America and deserve our respect. That’s why I stand when I hear our beautiful anthem and why NFL players should too. --Greg Stielstra
THE BEGINNING - America's struggle for independence from England did not end in 1776. It was won incrementally over many years and nearly lost during the War of 1812.
In August of 1814 the British army marched into Washington DC and set fire to the capitol building and White House. Their next target was the vital seaport of Baltimore whose harbor was protected by Fort McHenry. If it fell, the future of our new nation would be in doubt.
The entire British fleet assembled off shore and bombarded Fort McHenry with canons and rockets for 25 hours. Francis Scott Key, an American lawyer and amateur poet had gone aboard a British warship to negotiate a prisoner exchange when the bombardment began and remained on board all night. "By dawn's early light" Key could see British ships leaving the harbor as an American flag continued to waive above the fort. He realized the fort--and by extension the United States itself--had survived and was inspired to write the words that became the lyrics to The Star Spangled Banner.
Though it was written in 1814, the song did not officially become our national anthem until more than a century later. By executive order in 1916, Woodrow Wilson designated the song as the anthem of the United States for military services. Then, on March 3, 1931, Congress finally passed a measure that made the Star Spangled Banner the national anthem of the United States.
In the years between 1814 and today, the song has has been embraced by those who fought to end racial injustice in its various forms.
CIVIL WAR - During the civil war the Star Spangled Banner was the anthem for Union troops. According to the Smithsonian, “For Northerners the song stood for American ideals. With the abolition of slavery and the opening of the Union ranks to black soldiers, many African Americans saw the flag in a new light, as a symbol of freedom and the promise of citizenship.”
WWII - World War II was an effort to defend and preserve American values against the forces of totalitarianism. The anthem and flag were seen as symbols of that struggle.
But there was an unsettling contradiction because of the realities of racism and inequality at home where Japanese Americans were held in interment camps and American soldiers served in racially segregated units but fought under the same flag.
"During the war," according to the Smithsonian, "African Americans and other minority groups used the Star-Spangled Banner not only to convey their patriotism, but to call attention to these injustices and claim their equal rights as American citizens." Rather than blaming a nation for the misdeeds of a few by disrespecting the anthem, African Americans smartly leveraged a nation's patriotism to correct racial injustice by holding everyone accountable to the American ideals the anthem symbolized.
NINETEEN SIXTIES - During this decade, civil rights activists carried the American flag to pressure the nation to live up to its ideals of freedom and equality. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “All we say to America is, be true to what you said on paper.” And, "I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed; we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal." Dr. King saw the flag and anthem as symbols of American ideals--anchors to stabilize a citizenry whenever it threatened to drift away.
WHY I STAND - America stands for liberty, self-government, equality, individualism, diversity and unity. When we stand for the anthem we are standing for those principles and those who came before us and sacrificed to restore or preserve them. Whether they fought British tyranny at Fort McHenry, Nazi tyranny abroad or the evils of racism here at home, they were fighting for America and deserve our respect. That’s why I stand when I hear our beautiful anthem and why NFL players should too. --Greg Stielstra
