The California chapter of the NAACP will call on Congress to remove the “The Star-Spangled Banner” as the national anthem.
In a resolution passed at its state conference last month, the group called the anthem “one of the most racist, pro-slavery, anti-black songs in the American lexicon,” according to The Sacramento Bee.
A third, rarely sung verse of the anthem refers to “the hireling and slave,” and many have interpreted the song’s lyrics as racist.
California NAACP President Alice Huffman told the Bee that Congress should replace it with something that is not “another song that disenfranchises part of the American population.”
Huffman said she drafted two resolutions after the controversy surrounding NFL players kneeling during the national anthem to protest racial inequality and police brutality.
{mosads}The first resolution calls on Congress to change the anthem, while the second demands a censure of President Trump for his comments bashing NFL players who participate in the protests.
“We owe a lot of it to [Colin] Kaepernick,” Huffman said, referring to former 49ers quarterback, who sparked the protest movement. “I think all this controversy about the knee will go away once the song is removed.”
Trump was harshly critical of Kaepernick during his campaign, and recently called for NFL owners to fire players who participate in the protest.
“Trump got in the middle of it. He blew it out of proportion,” Huffman told the Bee.