Petition Calls to Replace the National Anthem

In the flood to rename and cancel things, a petition is calling for America to change its national anthem.

The current anthem, "The Star Spangled Banner", was originally a poem by Francis Scott Key which later became the lyrics to the song we know today.

What most people might not know is that Key was a slave owner.

For this reason, a Change.org petition is calling for the government to change the national anthem to "America the Beautiful."

The petition claims in addition to the writer's racist ties, "The Star Spangled Banner" itself "contains racism, elitism and even sexism embedded in its third and fourth stanzas."

Making a case for its suggested replacement, the petition says:

"America the Beautiful" celebrates "the highest of all ideals: brotherhood within our borders, deference to our natural resources and indirectly alludes to the safeguarding and conservation of our air, water, and land."

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