Civil rights groups are calling for the collapsed Baltimore Bridge to be renamed when it is rebuilt, citing accusations of racism against anthem author Francis Scott Key.
The Anne Arundel County Caucus of African American Leaders in Maryland voted unanimously in favor of the renaming and will lobby Governor Wes Moore on the proposal, as reported by the Baltimore banner.
The caucus includes civil rights groups such as the NAACP and the National Coalition of 100 Black Women.
Leaders argued that the author of The Star-Spangled Banner — for whom the collapsed bridge is named — was a slave owner who wrote lyrics that scholars said “demeaned black people.”
They have asked that the bridge be renamed after the late Congressman Parren J Mitchel, the first black man from Maryland to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.
Civil rights groups are calling for the collapsed Baltimore bridge to be renamed when it is rebuilt, citing accusations of racism against anthem author Francis Scott Key
Key was an ointment owner and helped found the American Colonization Society, which promoted the emigration of black Americans to Africa
They have asked that the bridge be renamed after the late Congressman Parren J Mitchel, the first black man from Maryland to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.
Democratic Gov. Moore told Fox News that he remains “laser-focused on providing closure for these families, clearing the canal and rebuilding the bridge.”
However, the Baltimore Banner reported that Moore told reporters on Monday that there will be “time for that” conversation at a later date.
While Key helped many black Marylanders gain their freedom before emancipation as a lawyer, he opposed the idea of free black citizens in the U.S. and helped found the American Colonization Society, which promoted the emigration of black Americans to Africa .
Key is also often quoted as claiming that black Americans are “a distinct and inferior race of men, all the experiences of which prove to be the greatest evil that afflicts a community.”
However, the Star Spangled Banner Foundation has claimed that the racist quote is “falsely attributed to Key as a first-person expression of his views on race in the United States.”
The foundation added: “The quote comes from page 40 of Jefferson Morley’s generally insightful 2012 book Snow-Storm in August: Washington City, Francis Scott Key, and the Forgotten Race Riot of 1835).
The Maryland Caucus has also called for the Senator Frederick Malkus Memorial Bridge to be renamed after Maryland civil rights icon Gloria Richardson
The group cited the conservative senator’s opposition to desegregation in the 1960s and 1970s.
Gloria Richardson, head of the Cambridge Nonviolent Action Committee, pushes aside a National Guardsman’s bayonet as she moves through a crowd of African Americans to convince them to disperse in Cambridge, Maryland
‘Morley, in turn, cites as his only source a quotation from Edward S. Delaplaine’s 1937 biography Francis Scott Key: Life and Times. This biography is the source of confusion about the speaker of the quote.’
Key also reportedly regretted helping black Americans sue for their freedom, saying that at one point it “brought nothing but harm to them.”
The Maryland Caucus has also called for the Senator Frederick Malkus Memorial Bridge to be renamed after Maryland civil rights icon Gloria Richardson. The group cited the conservative senator’s opposition to desegregation in the 1960s and 1970s.
Engineers working to clear the wreckage of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore said Thursday they expect to restore navigation in and out of the Port of Baltimore by the end of this month.
The bridge collapsed within seconds on March 26 after being struck by the freighter Dali, which lost power shortly after leaving Baltimore en route to Sri Lanka. The ship issued an emergency warning with just enough time for police to stop traffic, but not enough to rescue a roadwork crew that was filling holes in the bridge.
Authorities believe six workers plunged to their deaths in the Patapsco River; two bodies have been recovered so far. Two others survived.
Authorities believe six workers plunged to their deaths in the Patapsco River; two bodies have been recovered so far. Two others survived
President Joe Biden (C) delivers remarks at the wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, in the background, as he stands next to Maryland Governor Wes Moore, right
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced a “tentative timeline” on Thursday, saying in a news release that it expects to open a limited access channel to the port about 250 feet wide and 35 feet deep within the next four weeks.
The canal would support one-way traffic in and out of the port for barge container services and some ships carrying cars and agricultural machinery to and from the port.
The USACE said it aims to reopen the permanent, 700-foot-wide, 50-foot-deep federal navigation channel by the end of May, which would restore port access to normal capacity.
“A fully open federal channel remains our primary goal, and we will conduct this work with care and precision, with safety as our top priority,” Lt. Gen. Scott Spellmon, USACE commanding general, said in the news release.
Spellmon acknowledged that the timelines are “ambitious” and could still be affected by adverse weather conditions or “changes in the complexity of the wreck.”