Pledge of Allegiance and The National Anthem was Written For Whom? Part 2

Let's review the National Anthem:

“Oh, say can you see,
By the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed,
At the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars,
Through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched,
Were so gallantly streaming.
And the rocket's red glare,
The bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night,
That our flag was still there.
Oh say does that star- spangled banner yet wave,
For the land of the free, and the home of the brave.”

 In, order to examine the National Anthem we need to take a look at the writer Frances Scott Key, to find out what type of man, he really was because in the Bible it says " For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee." Proverbs 23:7.  Frances Scott Key was born to Anna Phoebe and John Ross Key who were slave owners.  Frances Scott Key also became a slave owner and anti-abolitionist (against abolishing slavery), he bought his first slave in 1801 and by 1820 he owned six slaves.  In 1833 President Jackson nominated Keys as the attorney for the District of Columbia, he used his power as an attorney to suppress abolitionist from allowing slaves to be free.
Interestingly, Key also accompanied Colonel John Stuart Skinner (British Prison Exchange Agent) for the release of Dr. William Bean, an upper Marlboro Maryland resident, (who arrested some British soldiers that were looting some farms) while in negotiation for the release of Dr. Bean they dined on the British ship, HMS Tonnant, as the guest of three British officers. The USA was on the edge of war with the British while they were dining on a British ship, they also became hostages because they knew too much information about the British ships position and their plan of attack. While Key and Skinner were on the ship a declaration of war was made and they had to watch the battle unfold from the deck of a British ship.

Now, that we have looked at Frances Scott Key, a slave owner, an anti-abolitionist, an attorney, a Neogotiator and a witness in the War of 1812 (the War of 1812, ended in a draw between the US and Britain) we know his position when he wrote the National Anthemn: The Star Spangle Banner. And that it was clearly written for White Americans because he owned slaves, he was against abolition, a government official (an D.C. attorney) and he only witnessed the War of 1812. Black Americans were still slaves in 1812 and were not freed (technically) untill 1863 (the year the Emancipation Proclamation was made) and then officially in 1865 that was 89 years later from July 4th, 1776. Why would any Black person want to sing the National Anthem (Star Spangle Banner),  when they know that their people were still slaves to White Americans who were only concerned with fighting for their own freedom.   Let’s rewrite this National Anthem and tell the real story

“Oh, say can you see”… Frances Scott Key could barely see because he was on a British ship with John Stuart Skinner dining and trying to negotiate for the release of Dr. Bean.
“By the dawn's early light”… when the British release Key and Skinner because the war was a draw they didn’t win the war, but they injured the British enough to delay and allow them to prepare for more fighting.
“What so proudly we hailed”… Key didn’t hail the flag he only saw it from the British ship where he, Skinner and Bean were held, hostages.
“At the twilight's last gleaming”… This was early morning when they were released.
“Whose broad stripes and bright stars”… this was the American soldiers who put up a bigger flag after they lower the smaller flag at Fort McHenry in Baltimore.
“Through the perilous fight”… Key didn’t fight he only observed.
“O'er the ramparts we watched”… Key was not behind any wall or fortified embankment he was on the British boat held hostage.
“Were so gallantly streaming”… Key saw this on the British boat.
“And the rocket's red glare”… Key saw this on the British boat.
“The bombs bursting in air”… Key saw this on the British boat.
“Gave proof through the night”… this didn’t give any proof that they won the war cause they didn't it was a draw.  Key didn’t know until the British ship released them in Maryland.
“That our flag was still there”… Key knew that the flag was still there because they put up a bigger flag than the smaller one they had up in Fort McHenry.
“Oh, say does that star- spangled banner yet wave”… yes it was because the soldiers put it up to wave after almost being defeated.
“For the land of the free, and the home of the brave”... This land was only free for White Americans not for Black Americans they were still slaves.  That is the story of the National Anthem.

Pledge Allegiance and The National Anthem Was Written For Whom? Part 1

      Recently, there was a big fuss about Colin Kaepernick not standing to recite the pledge of allegiance. So, why didn’t he stand and recite and why have others done the same thing,  Kaepernick said that it was a big issue for him especially, with people dying in the streets and the officers involved in the shootings are under investigation for murder getting leave with pay (who has ever heard of someone getting paid while under a murder investigation). He also stated he is not going to stand up and show pride in a flag that oppresses Black people.  To pledge allegiance to a flag that doesn’t have “…justice for all.” when this country has so much racial injustice, would be a selfish act.
Let’s examine the pledge of allegiance to see why people oppose it,

“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible for liberty and justice for all.”

Now, when you read this you might think what is the “…Republic for which it stands…”(it’s not talking about the republican party) here is the meaning: A republic (from Latin: res publica) is a sovereign state or country which is organized with a form of government in which power resides in elected individuals representing the citizen body and government leaders exercise power according to the rule of law.  The flag is a representation of a government, who was founded by men who were slaveholders who brutally raped and killed Black people and considered them less than human and “…justice for all.” was for White people only.   That is why you see government employees for example, politicians, police, postal worker, fire fighters with flags on their uniforms or small pins on their suites and this is why you see the flag outside of all government buildings.  So, if it represents the government why do the citizens have to pledge allegiance (loyalty or commitment of a subordinate to a superior or of an individual to a group or cause)  the citizens are the subordinates (in lower rank or position) and the flag (government) wants the citizens to give their loyalty and commitment to anyone who works for the government, no questions asked.  The government is the public servant and should be serving the citizens but when you are forced to pledge allegiance, you have to bow down and serve the government. Which goes against your First Amendment Rights which is freedom of speech this gives you the option to say the pledge of allegiance or not and to have an opinion.
Jackie Robinson was another athlete who used his first amendment right by not pledging allegiance to the flag this is what he said,

“There I was, the black grandson of a slave, the son of a black sharecropper, part of a historic occasion, a symbolic hero to my people. The air was sparkling. The sunlight was warm. The band struck up the national anthem. The flag billowed in the wind. It should have been a glorious moment for me as the stirring words of the national anthem poured from the stands. Perhaps, it was, but then again, perhaps, the anthem could be called the theme song for a drama called The Noble Experiment. Today, as I look back on that opening game of my first world series, I must tell you that it was Mr. Rickey's drama and that I was only a principal actor. As I write this twenty years later, I cannot stand and sing the anthem. I cannot salute the flag; I know that I am a black man in a white world. In 1972, in 1947, at my birth in 1919, I know that I never had it made.”

  Even, Ms. Brooks, Tennessee State Representative, has also chosen not to salute the flag and pledge allegiance because she said,

“And when this designed they did not have Black people in mind. This flag was founded from the thirteen colonies that enslave black people it is a symbol of slavery and racial oppression”

She was corrected for not standing with her colleagues (fellow lawmakers) and reciting the pledge of allegiance. Ms. Brooks also said, “It’s not one nation under God and it’s not liberty and justice for all.” It’s very hard for a black person to recite the anthem which say’s “…one nation under God with liberty and justice for all.” with so many black killings and with the racial injustice of black people today people like Sandra Bland, Jamal Clark, Philando Castile, Trayvon Martin and many more. In my next blog will talk about the National Anthem in part 2.

Black Lives Matter: Black Sistahs Need Support Too!

  They saying goes that behind every strong man is a strong woman, well, I don't no of any other group of women that is stronger than African American women ("the sistahs"). African American women have to face so many challenges in this life, that some other ethnic groups of women can only imagine (if at all). 

  African American women are at the forefront of the Black Lives Matter movement in every way, African American women defend their men from aggressive or unprovoked attacks by the police, African American women uplift the strength of their men, African American women hold multiple jobs to support their families (when for various reasons their is no African American father in the home), yet, when the African American women is unarmed and killed by the police....where are the voices of African American men??? African American women are at the VERY bottom of the social "totem pole" because we are women and in our society being African American / Black is a mark against you and being a woman is another mark against you. All the more reason, why African American women need African American men to give them the support and media attention that African American women give them WITHOUT hesitation (in most cases). Our black lives matter because we are women and because we BIRTH black lives.

Here is a small exert from the murder  (one of many), of Rekia Boyd from Identities.Mic. 

"On March 21, 2012, 22-year-old Rekia Boyd was fatally shot in the back of the head. 

Chicago Police Detective Dante Servin had been off-duty when, around 1 a.m., he approached a group that included Boyd in his car. After one of the individuals present, 39-year-old Anthony Cross, walked toward Servin holding what the officer thought was a gun, Servin began firing and hit Boyd in the head. She died on March 22, and Servin was subsequently charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, reckless discharge of a weapon and reckless conduct. 

On Monday, Cook County Judge Dennis Porter dismissed all charges. Servin left the courtroom, surrounded by family and fellow officers, a free man. "

Read the rest of her story and others here: https://mic.com/articles/116102/this-unarmed-black-woman-was-shot-by-the-police-so-why-aren-t-we-marching-for-her#.3gjP5Wwfz 

Watch this videos of other unarmed Black women:

Who Dat Is...That's Just My Baby Daddy: Are Black Fathers Just "Baby Daddys"?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently published new data on the role that American fathers play in parenting their children. Most of the CDC’s previous research on family life — which the agency explores as an important contributor to public health and child development — has focused exclusively on mothers. But the latest data finds that the stereotypical gender imbalance in this area doesn’t hold true, and dads are just as hands-on when it comes to raising their kids.
That includes African-American fathers.
In fact, in its coverage of the study, the Los Angeles Times noted that the results “defy stereotypes about black fatherhood” because the CDC found that black dads are more involved with their kids on a daily basis than dads from other racial groups:

CREDIT: LOS ANGELES TIMES

Read  the full article http://thinkprogress.org/health/2014/01/16/3175831/myth-absent-black-father/

(TWB) Traveling While Black...A Global Look at Racism

   In the society that we live in, no MATTER, where African American people go we are treated based upon our skin tone. Of course, each individual has had their own personal experiences and have experienced different forms of racism in different parts of the world. To reflect the different experiences, below are videos from two different African American women, even of different skin tones and personalities on their experiences.What are you personal experiences with TWB, Traveling While Black, let us know in the comments below.


Racism in Italy??

Racism in Panama: Profiled in Panama