Like so many famous songs of yore, "The Star-Spangled Banner" started as a poem, called “The Defence of Fort McHenry.” It was written by Francis Scott Key in 1814 during the War of 1812.

One of the first musicians to interpret the “Star Spangled Banner” in a way that displayed a Black consciousness was the ...

The first verse of the poem, Defence of Fort M'Henry, later became known as the lyrics of The Star-Spangled Banner, which officially became the national anthem of the United States in 1931.