As such, it is appropriate to consider what the transition means for Black America, and how its musicians have interpreted the “Star Spangled Banner” during times of stress in our racial politics.

And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave. Leepson: In the first line, Key uses “freemen,” and three lines later, he uses “us.” ...

In 1939, Anderson gave a concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. She delivered "Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen" and "America" with heart-breaking pathos.

Among the world’s best-known national anthems, “The Star-Spangled Banner” (1814) emerged out of a welter of patriotic musical activity during the decades following our victorious conclusion ...

“The Star Spangled Banner” has long been derided as a poor choice for our national anthem. Critics cite it as difficult to sing, difficult to understand, and most often, difficult to love.

One of the first musicians to interpret the “Star Spangled Banner” in a way that displayed a Black consciousness was the piano prodigy known as “Blind Tom.” ...