The California chapter of the NAACP is seeking to remove ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ as the national anthem when state legislation returns at the start of the year.
According to the group, it is “one of the most racist, pro-slavery, anti-black songs in the American lexicon.”
California NAACP President Alice Huffman told The Sacramento Bee, should find a replacement that is not “another song that disenfranchises part of the American population.”
“Our flag and national anthem unite us as Americans,” Assemblyman Travis Allen, a Huntington Beach Republican who is running for governor, said in a statement. “Protesting our flag and national anthem sows division and disrespects the diverse Americans who have proudly fought and died for our country. Real social change can only happen if we work together as Americans first.”