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Back to Press Play with Madeleine Brand

Press Play with Madeleine Brand

Is the US national anthem racist?

Amid the debate over protests during the national anthem, some attention is focusing on the song itself. The third verse of The Star Spangled Banner, which is rarely sung, contains lines alluding to slaves and freed blacks fighting with the British in the War of 1812.

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By Madeleine Brand • Sep 28, 2017 • 1 min read

Amid the debate over protests during the national anthem, some attention is focusing on the song itself. The third verse of The Star Spangled Banner, which is rarely sung, contains lines alluding to slaves and freed blacks fighting with the British in the War of 1812.

  • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

    Madeleine Brand

    Host, 'Press Play'

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    Vice President of Talk Programming, KCRW

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    Jason A. Johnson

    professor of political science and journalism, Morgan State University; politics editor, The Root; host, “A Word with Jason Johnson.”

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