Now, the NAACP said they plan to lobby legislators to remove the 'Star-Spangled Banner' as our national anthem, calling it one of the most racist, pro-slavery, anti-black songs in the American lexicon. It was generally accepted to be celebrating the death of freed slaves who fought with the British in the war of 1812.

What we know of the anthem is just the first verse in a four-stanza poem that includes the line, 'No refuge could save the hireling and slave from the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave.' 'I believe that any individual that hears the song, that believes in the song should take the time to understand what the song is really saying,' said NAACP Regional Director Ronald Hasson. The 'Star-Spangled Banner' has been our national anthem since 1931, but the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is looking to change that. The 'Star-Spangled Banner' has been our national anthem since 1931, but the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is looking to change that.īURBANK, Calif.

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