Most of us have stood in a stadium, hot dog in one hand, cap in the other, and hummed along to those high notes about the "land of the free." It feels like a standard part of the American experience. But lately, the vibe has changed. You’ve probably seen the headlines or the social media debates asking: is the Star Spangled Banner racist? It isn’t just a simple yes or no question, honestly. It’s a mess of 19th-century history, a forgotten third verse, and the complicated life of a man named Francis Scott Key.
History is rarely as clean as a textbook makes it out to be. We usually only sing the first verse—the part about the rockets' red glare and the flag still being there. It’s triumphant. It’s cinematic. But if you keep reading into the later parts of the poem, things get murky. Fast.
The Verse Nobody Sings
The real controversy lives in the third verse. If you look at the original text written by Key in 1814, there’s a specific line that stops people in their tracks: "No refuge could save the hireling and slave / From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave."
Why was he talking about slaves?
Context matters here. During the War of 1812, the British were clever. They knew the American economy and social structure relied heavily on enslaved labor. To mess with the Americans, the British Rear Admiral George Cockburn issued a proclamation. He promised freedom to any enslaved person who would join the British forces. Thousands took him up on it. These men became the Colonial Marines, a specialized unit of former slaves who fought against their former masters with a level of ferocity that, frankly, terrified white Americans.
Francis Scott Key wasn't just some casual observer. He was a lawyer from a wealthy, slave-holding family in Maryland. When he saw the British "hirelings" (mercenaries) and "slaves" (the Colonial Marines) retreating after the failed attack on Fort McHenry, he wasn't just celebrating a military win. He was arguably gloating over the defeat of people who had dared to fight for their own freedom against the United States.
Historians like Jason Johnson, a professor at Morgan State University, have argued that this verse makes the Star Spangled Banner racist at its very core because it celebrates the death of those seeking liberation. It’s a harsh reality to face when you’re used to the song being a generic anthem of liberty.
Who Was Francis Scott Key?
You can't talk about the song without talking about the man. Key is a walking contradiction. On one hand, he was a founding member of the American Colonization Society. This group believed that Black people couldn't ever truly integrate into American society and should be "sent back" to Africa—specifically to Liberia.
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He once called Black people "a distinct and inferior race of beings." That’s a direct quote. Not great.
Yet, as a lawyer, he also represented enslaved people seeking their freedom in court. He did this for free sometimes. He was known as the "District Attorney of the People" in Washington D.C. for a while. But then, in 1836, he prosecuted abolitionists for possessing "seditious" literature that encouraged slaves to rebel. He literally used his power to try and shut down the anti-slavery movement.
He was a man of his time, sure. But his "time" was one where human beings were property, and he was a fierce defender of that system whenever it was challenged by force.
The Path to National Anthem Status
Believe it or not, the song wasn’t the national anthem for a long time. It was just a popular patriotic tune. It wasn't officially adopted until 1931. That’s over 100 years after it was written.
The push to make it the official anthem happened during a very specific era in American history. We’re talking about the height of Jim Crow laws. The United Daughters of the Confederacy and other groups were very active in "memorializing" a specific version of American history. For many, the selection of this song wasn’t an accident. It was a choice that reinforced a specific racial hierarchy.
When President Herbert Hoover signed the bill in 1931, the country was deeply segregated. The song's history didn't bother the lawmakers of the time because the lawmakers of the time generally shared Key’s views on race.
Contemporary Protests and the Modern Lens
Fast forward to 2016. Colin Kaepernick takes a knee. Suddenly, the Star Spangled Banner racist debate isn't just for history nerds; it’s on ESPN every night.
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Kaepernick’s protest wasn't just about the song itself, but the song provided a symbolic backdrop for his message about police brutality and systemic inequality. He pointed out the irony of singing about the "land of the free" while Black Americans were being treated as second-class citizens.
The reaction was explosive. People felt he was disrespecting the military. Others felt he was finally pointing out the "man behind the curtain."
Statistics show how polarized we are on this. A 2020 Yahoo News/YouGov poll found that 44% of Americans supported players kneeling during the anthem, while 52% opposed it. However, when you break that down by race, 71% of Black Americans supported the protest compared to only 36% of white Americans. This gap tells you that the song doesn't mean the same thing to everyone.
Should We Change the Anthem?
This is where things get tricky. Some people want to scrap it entirely. They suggest "America the Beautiful" or "Lift Every Voice and Sing." Others think we should just acknowledge the history and keep the first verse as a symbol of resilience.
If you look at countries like Germany or South Africa, they’ve changed or modified their anthems to reflect a new, more inclusive era. Germany dropped the verses of "Deutschlandlied" associated with the Nazi era. South Africa created a hybrid anthem that uses five of the country's eleven official languages.
In the U.S., the debate usually stalls. We’re protective of our traditions. But tradition isn't a shield against facts. The fact is that the man who wrote our anthem held views that most of us would find abhorrent today, and he wrote a verse that specifically mocked people trying to escape slavery.
Understanding the Nuance
It is possible for two things to be true at once.
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- The song represents the bravery of those who defended Fort McHenry against a massive British fleet.
- The song contains language and was written by a person deeply entrenched in white supremacy.
Most people who sing the anthem aren't thinking about the third verse. They aren't thinking about Francis Scott Key’s legal career. They’re thinking about their grandpa who fought in World War II or the feeling of being part of a huge crowd. That's valid. But it's also valid for a Black American to look at those lyrics and feel a deep sense of exclusion.
The "Star Spangled Banner" is a snapshot of 1814. And 1814 was a brutal, complicated time for anyone who wasn't white and landed.
Moving Forward: Actionable Insights
If you’re grappling with whether the Star Spangled Banner racist history changes how you feel about the song, don’t just take a side on Twitter. Do the work.
- Read the full text. Don't rely on the "top hits" version. Read all four verses of Key’s original poem, "Defence of Fort M'Henry."
- Study the War of 1812. Look into the "Colonial Marines." Understanding that Black men fought for the British to gain their freedom changes the way you view the "enemy" in Key’s lyrics.
- Visit the sites. If you’re ever in Baltimore, go to Fort McHenry. They don’t shy away from the history there anymore. They talk about the slaves who worked at the fort and the complexities of the era.
- Engage in local discussions. Many school boards and local governments are having conversations about how patriotic songs are taught. Show up. Listen to different perspectives without getting defensive.
The goal shouldn't be to "cancel" a song, but to understand it. When we know the full story, we can decide what parts of our history we want to carry forward and what parts we need to leave in the past. Patriotism isn't about blind loyalty to a tune; it's about the constant work of making the "land of the free" a reality for everyone, not just a lyric in a 200-year-old poem.
The conversation about the anthem is really a conversation about who belongs in the American story. If we can't talk about the third verse, we can't talk about the foundation of the country. And if we can't talk about the foundation, we can't fix the cracks in the walls.
Take the time to look up the American Colonization Society and Francis Scott Key's specific role in it. It’s eye-opening to see how the people we hold up as heroes often had visions for the country that were incredibly narrow. We can appreciate the "star-spangled banner" waving over the fort while also acknowledging that the man who saw it didn't think everyone deserved to stand under it. That’s not being "woke" or "unpatriotic"—it’s just being honest with our history.