It does a disservice to black people today," said Gerald Horne, chair of history and African American studies at the University of Houston. The song "casts aspersions on black people. The line is believed to refer to black slaves who were promised freedom if they fought on the side of the British during the War of 1812. (Most performances stop after the first stanza.) The third section states: "No refuge could save the hireling and slave / From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave. Some believe "The Star-Spangled Banner" contains racist language, most notably in its third stanza, which is seldom sung today. He said the challenge facing "The Star-Spangled Banner" is that it has "taken on the role of representing a 200-year-old history" and that the current controversy "highlights the need and imperative of our national symbols to live up to who we have become and for us to live up to what the symbol deserves."
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