A 106-year-old monument to the author of the national anthem, Francis Scott Key, was vandalized Wednesday — spray-painted in red declaring “racist anthem,” The Baltimore Sun reported.
Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh said she has no plans to remove the monument — and directed art preservation experts to figure out the cost of cleaning it.
The vandals also spray-painted those words onthe sidewalk next to it: “No refuge could save/ Hireling or slave/ From terror of flight/ Or gloom of grave,” the Sun reported.
The vandalism comes amid a national controversy over the removal of Confederate monuments, and statues of historic figures who are now seen by some as racist.
In particular, NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick stoked a national controversy last season over his decision not to stand for the anthem before football games in protest of racism in America.
“We understand the freedom of expression, but there certainly has to
