September 14 is an important day in our nation’s history. On this day, Francis Scott Key penned “The Star-Spangled Banner” after witnessing American forces defend Fort McHenry from British troops. The Music Educator’s National Conference, the largest organization of music instructors in the country, has joined with several other organizations and groups to create “The National Anthem Project” in order to draw attention to this important song in American history.
A recent Harris poll found that two out of three American adults do not know all the words to “The Star-Spangled Banner”—and many do not even know which song is the National Anthem or why it was written. For this reason, Thursday, September 14, 2006, at 9:00 a.m. has been chosen as the date and time for schools to sing “The Star-Spangled Banner” together in a country-wide “sing-along”.
Governor Mike Huckabee has issued an official Proclamation stating, in part, the following: “WHEREAS, the State of Arkansas is concerned with maintaining and improving school music programs for all students and teaching the importance of the historical events that created our great nation…NOW, THEREFORE, I, Mike Huckabee, acting under the authority vested in me as Governor of the State of Arkansas, do hereby proclaim, September 14, 2006, as NATIONAL ANTHEM PROJECT DAY in the State of Arkansas and encourage all citizens of Arkansas to join in this observance.”
The official national website for this project can be found at http://www.thenationalanthemproject.org/.