Time for a New National Anthem?

I grew up in Switzerland—cue the cheese, chocolate, watch, and redfish candy jokes (those redfish are SWEDISH, know the difference!). It’s a small country, with a population of just over 8 million and it’s amazing that even such a comparatively (to the U.S.) small citizenry can have such trouble agreeing on basic aspects of national identity, like the national anthem. The current national anthem of Switzerland, the Swiss Psalm, has its detractors, with 44% of surveyed respondents admitting that they didn’t know the first verse. In this period between Memorial Day and the 4th of July, arguably the most patriotic time in the U.S. holiday calendar, I keep finding myself reflecting on my own identity as an American, patriotism, our national anthem, and what it all means to my sense of belonging in the United States.

An anthem, much like a list of corporate values or a mission statement, is intended to communicate something powerful, inspiring, and honest about the entity it represents. It should align with the identity of the country and its population — inspiring more than just unexamined national pride or patriotic fervor. I wonder if it’s not time to choose a national anthem that does a better job of capturing the essence of what it means to be American such as the current “Black National Anthem”, Lift Every Voice and Sing. (I would be remised if I failed to acknowledge that though I’ve been thinking about this for months now, this is not at all an original idea.)

There’s a subset of the reparations movement focused on micro-reparations and the ways that businesses can meaningfully begin to undo the historic and compounding harm that has been caused to Black communities. Dr. Janice Gassam Asare does a wonderful job summarizing the merits of this approach in her recent Forbes Article. What I’m talking about here though, feels more like a macro-reparation. A collective national agreement, followed by subsequent reparative steps, that the current national anthem does an objectively inferior job of capturing the essence of what it means to be American than other songs tightly interwoven with our national identity and history.

You may be surprised to learn that the Star Spangled Banner has only been the national anthem of the United States since 1931—less than 100 years ago! Therefore, we should not view it as being sacrosanct, or too important or valuable to be interfered with. Even in this short 100 years, it has a controversial history and a divisive present.

The song was written by Francis Scott Key in 1814, after he witnessed the British bombardment of Fort McHenry in Baltimore during the War of 1812. He was inspired by the sight of the American flag flying over the fort, despite the heavy attack. The song was originally titled "The Defence of Fort McHenry" and was set to the tune of a popular English drinking song called "To Anacreon in Heaven".

It officially became the national anthem in 1931, after decades of popular use by the U.S. Navy and other patriotic organizations. The song has been criticized for its militaristic tone, its glorification of war, and its exclusion of many Americans who do not identify with its message. The third verse of the song, which is rarely sung today, contains a reference to the killing of enslaved Africans who fought for the British in exchange for their freedom and while there’s some debate about who Key would have included in that definition of “slave” — he himself was a slave-owner.

Lift Every Voice and Sing (see and hear it sung here) is another song that has been called the national anthem, but by a different segment of the American population: African Americans. The song was written by James Weldon Johnson and his brother John Rosamond Johnson in 1900, for a celebration of Abraham Lincoln's birthday at a segregated school in Jacksonville, Florida. The song was originally a poem that expressed the hopes and struggles of African Americans in the post-Civil War era. It was later set to music by John and became a popular hymn in Black churches and schools.

Lift Every Voice and Sing has been dubbed "the Black national anthem" by the NAACP and other civil rights organizations and has been performed at many historic events, such as the March on Washington in 1963, the inauguration of Barack Obama in 2009, and the Super Bowl in 2021. The song has been praised for its uplifting message, its celebration of Black culture and history, and its call for unity and justice.

Belonging is a core and often elusive outcome that all organizations with viable DEI programs are focused on. Cultivating an environment where belonging can flourish is a difficult and fluid process which is what makes it so challenging, especially on a national scale. But for me, a sense of belonging is central to the feelings of pride and patriotism that nations hope to inspire in their citizens. And while globalization and technological advancement continue to thin the boundaries that separate us, nations, as a primary organizing instrument, still matter. For that reason, national identity and belonging will continue to be relevant topics of conversation and consideration.

What I’m suggesting is not that a new national anthem would heal the social and political ruptures that we’re facing as a nation — we’ve got a long way to go on that journey. But much like the critical listening and systems-based work that organizations are doing in order to create more inclusive cultures, I believe that all work must start at the individual level. Each of us could benefit from an honest examination of and conversation about whether the current national anthem effectively inspires us to live up to the promise of what we believe it means to be American. For me, precedent and tradition are not good enough reasons to accept something as fact and this patriotic season seems like an opportune time to explore those alternatives. Some of these alternatives might include approving H.R. 301, a bill introduced by the late representative James Clyburn, which would make Lift Every Voice and Sing the national hymn or the introduction of a second national anthem, like New Zealand has done, both recognizing its colonial past and its hope for the future.

As you look to celebrate the 4th of July, le 1er août (Switzerland’s national holiday), or any other holiday celebrating national independence and identity, how are you thinking about reconciliation with our past, belonging, and their intersection with your own identity?

 
Additional Resources:

The Black Reparations Project Book

What Are Micro-Reparations and How they Can Benefit Your Black Employees

Ada Limón – A New National Anthem Poem