In Baltimore the monument of Francis Scott Key, the author of the Star-Spangled Banner, was spray painted with the words "Racist Anthem" and covered in blotches of red paint. It was vandalized because of a line in the anthem, which is rarely sung, that states "No refuge could save/ Hireling or slave/ From terror of fight/ Or gloom of grave" (historians differ on the meaning of this line.) But also because Key owned slaves. However he also represented runaway slaves as a lawyer and faced down a white mob that was trying to lynch an African American... There are no plans to remove the key monument.
In matters like this it's complicated. America can never wash away its cruelty but in time, hopefully, we may truel, collectively repent for it. I am a big advocator for freedom of speech, however, I do not agree with this approach. I'm not saying that key was a completely innocent man but he did also stand up for slaves in his time. I don't think that the Key monument deserved to be vandalized but I do believe that people have the the right to voice their option however they want, as long as they stay within the law.
http://www.offthegridnews.com/current-events/vandals-target-racist-star-spangled-banner-statue/
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