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Francis Scott Key Monument

Introduction

Text-to-speech Audio

The Francis Scott Key Monument is located in Baltimore, Maryland on the corner of W. Lanvale Street and Eutaw Place. The monument commemorates Francis Scott Key, the writer of the Star-Spangled Banner, USA's national anthem. Despite Key’s description of America as, “the land of the free,” he participated in and defended the institution of slavery. The controversy surrounding the monument has occurred since its May 15, 1911 dedication. On June 19, 2020, protestors for the Black Lives Matter movement removed the statue.

Images

  • The Francis Scott Key monument located in Baltimore, Maryland prior to the vandalizing that took place in September 2017. You can notice how large and well put-together the monument is. Somebody spent a lot of money and time to get this monument built.
  • The Francis Scott Key Monument is extremely accessible to the public. It sits in the middle of a predominately African American neighborhood and can be seen from any angle.
  • The words “Racist Anthem” were spray painted across the base of the monument in September 2017 following the Charlottesville "Unite the Right" protests. The vandalizing took place overnight. The vandalizing was a method for the African American community to express their disagreement in having a monument commemorating a former slave owner in their city.
  • Following the vandalizing in September 2017, Baltimore City Mayor, Catherine Pugh, decided to preserve and restore the Francis Scott Key Monument. Therefore, a roughly six-foot tall chain-linked fence was placed around the monument to prevent any further potential damage.

Backstory and Context

Text-to-speech Audio

Francis Scott Key, a Maryland lawyer, and former slave owner is the writer of the Star-Spangled Banner, otherwise known as America’s national anthem. Key composed the Star Spangled banner while on a boat in the Baltimore inner harbor on the night of September 13th, 1812 overlooking the bombardment taking place at Fort McHenry during the War of 1812. 

In 1907, Baltimore resident, Charles Marburg, gave $25,000 to his brother, Theodore, to commission a monument to his favorite poet, Francis Scott Key. The Francis Scott Key Monument was unveiled to the public on May 15, 1911. The sculptor responsible for this project was France native, Jean Marius Antonin Mercie, who was known for monumental sculptures of Robert E. Lee (1890) in Richmond, Virginia, and General Lafeyette (1891) in the District of Columbia.

In 1999, former First Lady, Hillary Clinton, spoke at the monument on the importance of renovating and preserving America’s historical monuments. Several years later in April of 2015, Freddie Gray, a Baltimore African American teen, was wrongfully arrested and killed under police custody. This, along with the Charleston Church shooting in the summer of 2017, led to the Black Lives Matter civil rights movement.

Following the Charleston Church shootings, the former Mayor of Baltimore City, Catherine Pugh, decided to take down multiple confederate monuments around the city overnight. However, Pugh decided to keep the Francis Scott Key Monument intact. Nearly a month later, the Baltimore City Department of Recreation and Parks workers discovered that the monument was splattered in bright red paint along with the phrase “Racist Anthem” spray-painted in black on various areas of the monument.

Baltimore city officials responded by restoring the monument and surrounding it with a 6-feet high chain-linked fence for protection from further damages. However, on June 19, 2020, protests against systemic racism and police brutality sparked by the death of George Floyd led to the removal of the statue of Francis Scott Key by protestors.

Sources

Hopkins, J. (2019, May 7). Francis Scott Key Monument. Retrieved from https://explore.baltimoreheritage.org/items/show/105.

Johnson, M. (2016, September 3). Let's take the national anthem literally, and the songwriter at his word. Retrieved from https://theundefeated.com/features/lets-take-the-national-anthem-literally-and-the-songwriter-at-his-word/.

Pousson, E. (2017, September 22). Baltimore Isn't Done Fighting Over Monuments. Retrieved from https://www.citylab.com/design/2017/09/theres-nothing-new-about-fighting-over-memorials/540840/.

Torres, Ella. Protesters bring down statue of Francis Scott Key, https://abcnews.go.com/. June 20th 2020. Accessed September 21st 2020. https://abcnews.go.com/US/protesters-bring-statue-francis-key-scott/story?id=71359718.

Image Sources(Click to expand)

http://www.cbsoftwareengineering.com/DefendersDozen/halt2.html

https://www.123rf.com/photo_55505957_the-francis-scott-key-monument-in-bolton-hill-baltimore-maryland-.html

https://www.wbal.com/article/263921/2/francis-scott-key-monument-vandalized

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Francis_Scott_Key_Monument_(1911,_Marius_Jean_Antonin_Merci%C3%A9),_W._Lafayette_Avenue_and_Eutaw_Place,_Baltimore,_MD_21217_(37185546912).jpg

Additional Information