Playing Upon the Blue Guitar: Toward Re-imaginings of the U.S. National Anthems

Drawing upon Maxine Greene’s concepts of wide awakeness and social imagination, I argue for the necessity of re-imagining “The Star-Spangled Banner” (U.S. national anthem) to account for a plurality of American perspectives and to de-legitimize ways in which racism and White privilege have dictated “correct interpretations” of the anthem throughout U.S. history. Toward these ends, in this essay I explore the patriotic re-imaginings of the U.S. national anthem by Black musicians Jimi Hendrix, René Marie, and Jon Batiste—two of whom incorporated “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing,” otherwise known as “the Black national anthem,” into their musical renderings. I also look reflexively at my experience with the song as a White American music teacher striving to work toward anti-racist pedagogy and engagements with patriotic music in the classroom. While there are a variety of musical recordings linked throughout the essay, I recommend that the reader view the three video recordings list below before reading the essay.