Why civil rights groups are demanding renaming Baltimore Bridge? The controversial legacy of Francis Scott Key

A consortium of civil rights groups has unanimously agreed to petition the Maryland state government to rename the now-collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. The bridge was left in complete shambles after a cargo vessel named Dali crashed into it last month.

The activist group argued that Key who was the author of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” was a slave owner. The motion was moved by the Caucus of African American Leaders — whose members include the NAACP and the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, among others, NBC News reported.

The group is urging Governor Wes Moore, a Democrat and the General Assembly to reconsider the bridge’s name given the problematic past of its namesake.

What are they suggesting? 

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The caucus is now suggesting that the bridge should be renamed after Representative Parren J. Mitchell who was the first black person from Maryland to be elected to the US House of Representatives back in 1970.

“He spent a life, his entire life, creating a bridge between the African American community and literally the larger society,” Carl O. Snowden, the convener of the Caucus of African American Leaders, told NBC News. Mitchell died in 2007.

The group is also recommending that the Senator Frederick Malkus Memorial Bridge which overlooks the Choptank River in Dorchester County, should be renamed after Gloria Richardson, the first woman in the United States to lead a grassroots civil rights organisation outside of the Deep South.

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The caucus noted that it is planning to share its recommendation with Moore this week. Snowden mentioned that they are also planning to discuss the renaming of the bridge in more detail at their quarterly meeting with the governor.

Along with these requests, the civil rights group will be urging the governor and the state government to create a memorial lane for six Latino workers who were killed in the bridge collapse.

The Legacy of Francis Scott Key 

The Baltimore Bridge was erected in 1977 and overlooks the Patapsco River. It was the same river where Key wrote “The Star-Spangled Banner” after he witnessed the United States defeating the British at the Battle of Baltimore in 1814.

However, Key’s legacy was stained by the fact that he owned slaves and was known as a believer that Black people were intrinsically inferior as a race.

As a lawyer, Key helped Black Americans sue for their freedom prior to widespread emancipation. He later revealed that he regretted the decisions. He even detested the idea of Black Americans living among white Americans and eventually became a leading advocate for sending formerly enslaved people to Liberia.

While, Key’s legacy is marred by these controversies, the Star Spangled Music Foundation, which promotes American heritage through music said that his words were taken in isolation and have been misconstructed.