LETTER: Columnist misses the point on the Black National Anthem
Columnist misses the point on the Black National Anthem
Columnist Clarence Page misses the point of why many Americans take issue with the Black National Anthem (“What doesn’t MAGA know about the ‘Black National Anthem?’ A lot”).
Page shouldn’t assume that anyone who questions a separate anthem belongs to MAGA. He is wrong to accuse those who disagree with a separate anthem of “fanning the flames of fear and paranoia purely for political exploitation.”
Imagine the protests if Francis Scott Key’s “Star Spangled Banner” were called the White National Anthem. Or if Christians insisted on having a separate “Christian National Anthem” sung during the Super Bowl. Or if Jews wanted their own anthem sung. That is, even if Judeo-Christian values have been part of our nation’s history from the beginning.
Yes, tragically, Blacks have been mistreated during our history, but so were Native Americans. That also has been true of other ethnic groups like the Japanese, who were interred during World War II. Must they have their own national anthems?
I don’t know anyone who objects to the song “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” Why then must it be called the “Black National Anthem” if the word “race” isn’t included in the song?” Why must it be sung by that name during the Super Bowl, if as Page says, he believes in “one nation under God?” Why are the words “black” or “national” so important?
Let’s avoid having a separate “national anthem” for every people group if we want to preserve the unity of these United States.
Richard Kauffman
Canonsburg