light what so proudly we hailed at the
twilight’s last gleaming whose broad
stripes and bright stars through the
perilous heart what we watched were so
the bombs bursting in
gave proof through the night that our
the first time I sang the national
anthem I was 14 years old and since then
I’ve performed the anthem in countless
venues and so many times the proudest
moment I’ve had singing the anthem was
at my college graduation sitting in
front of me was my parents my
grandparents and extended family and
sitting behind me was the commencement
speaker who happened to be the 41st
president of the United States never
could I have imagined that I’d be
singing for a former president and never
could I have imagined that he when I
finished he would grab my hand
congratulate me on a great performance
and congratulate me on receiving my
degree as I look back over all the
performances of the anthem over the
years I realized I never really quite
considered what singing the anthem
actually meant to me as the grandson of
a World War two veteran with a host of
family members who have served in the
military and served in Foreign Wars
reverence for country was never
questioned America as the country that
wasn’t perfect but was always striving
was the country that I lived in the
country that I was taught to love and
the country that I was taught was a
force for good in the world every singer
will tell you that singing the national
anthem is one of the most difficult
things to sing and I have to be honest
after well over a hundred performances
of the anthem in my life and in some
instances for more than 10,000 people at
a time performing the anthem has never
gotten easier I’ve performed all over
the world in different languages in
different styles and somehow singing the
national anthem is still really really
difficult in many ways I like in singing
the national anthem and its difficulty
so the difficult
see as I see it of true American
citizenship when I sing the anthem I’m
not just singing a song I sing with the
weight of the text of the Declaration of
Independence where it says we hold these
truths to be self-evident that all men
are created equal and are endowed by
their creator with certain inalienable
rights among them life liberty and the
pursuit of happiness at the same time I
realized that just 11 years later when
the Constitution was penned I wouldn’t
have been among the men who were
afforded those unalienable rights when I
sing the anthem I sing with the strength
of the First Amendment freedoms freedom
of religion freedom of the press freedom
of speech freedom of assembly but I also
have to acknowledge the ways in which
religion has been co-opted to control to
enslave and to oppress the ways in which
free speech and a free press has been
used to make us afraid and the times
where free assembly have been met by
dogs water hoses and even bullets when I
sing the anthem I sing with the triumph
of the 13th amendment that freed the
slaves but I lament a clause in the
phrase in the in the amendment that
gives legal cover to the government to
enslave those who have been committed of
a crime when I sing the anthem I sing
with the hope of Reconstruction but I
lament the scourge of Jim Crow and those
who thought separate could ever be equal
in our country when I sing the anthem I
celebrate America’s triumph in World War
one in World War two but I’m enraged at
the death of innocence because grown men
couldn’t come together and reason but
chose bomb bombs and guns to settle
their differences
I mourn my grandfather who was good
enough to fight and risk his life for
country but wasn’t good enough for equal
protection under the law when he
returned from war I had mourned my
grandfather who had to come from war to
fight a war for dignity and respect in
an internal war for his own sanity when
I sing the anthem I sing with the wonder
of space exploration the spirit of
discovery inherent in our education
system and the fleeting hope that if you
come here work hard you too can make
something of your life but I also have
to acknowledge the inconvenient truth
that we as a country have often put
profits ahead of people and markets
ahead of mercy and law and order against
compassion and rehabilitation
we’ve marginalized the stranger within
our midst used him for personal profit
and when it no longer served the bottom
line discarded them and treated them as
if they caused our problems when I sing
the anthem I am reminded that 45 times
we’ve elected a leader and transitioned
power peacefully but I’m also given
pause that a system designed to protect
defend and perpetuate the power of
slaveholders is responsible for electing
our 45th president I find myself at a
crossroads I think we’re all at a
crossroads do we seek individual success
and personal gain at the expense of
those we deem beneath us or do we work
toward a type of prosperity that
equitably gives us all a chance to rise
you see we often talk about the rights
that we have as citizens but rarely do
we talk about the response
ability of citizenship true citizenship
has a responsibility to hold the nation
accountable to the spirit of its
founding documents even when it’s
inconvenient uncomfortable or may it go
against personal belief and personal
interests we have to reject a cheap and
convenient patriotism that merely waves
a flag but perpetuates war commodifies
fear and capitalizes on our differences
to usurp the reins of power we must
embrace our responsibility as citizens
to demand that our country that the
actions that our country takes continue
to live up to our brightest and best
hope I talked earlier about singing all
around the world and several years ago I
had an opportunity to perform in Russia
and while walking down the street with a
colleague after a performance I came
into contact with some young men and the
young men started yelling at us and they
were yelling white power we quickly
retreated to the safety of our hotel
room and I had this thought immediately
I can’t wait to get home where I don’t
have to worry about racist crazies
chasing me down the street and fear for
my life because of because of the color
of my skin
and in this moment standing here today I
can’t help to think that my thought was
naive just this past summer while
touring Europe and came to a small town
outside of Innsbruck Austria I had been
to the town before I speak a little
German I was excited to get out and
explore while walking down the street
doing a little window shopping a
gentleman approached to me called me a
there were people walking by no one
came to my aid I tell these stories
because they bring up a few questions
for me how has America consistently
demonstrated that it’s better than
Russia even though they’ve been our
sworn enemies for the better part of a
century and what ways have we protected
all of our citizens and our immigrants
and even our visitors in any way better
than Austria protected me even though we
always say how much better we are than
than Europe have we completely embraced
the responsibilities of citizenship I
don’t ask these questions to shame
America I asked them to challenge her to
live up to her brightest and best there
are people among us who will criticize
my words there are others who will even
criticize me singing the national anthem
at this juncture of our nation’s history
but I choose to sing it anyway in the
words of poet Langston Hughes I too sing
America
[Music] [Applause]