Plain Spoken: This ever-evolving American anthem recalls Iowa's abolitionist glory days - Little Village

Plain Spoken: This ever-evolving American anthem recalls Iowa's abolitionist glory days - Little Village

In keeping with tradition, one dramatic beat of the presidential inauguration in January was the Naval Academy Glee Club’s performance of the “Battle Hymn of the Republic.” While it was standard inaugural fare, it was also, of course, a nauseating co-optation. A song of solidarity, bravery and liberation — an alternative national anthem — was sung in service of an authoritarian coward’s big day. Those who seek to combat authoritarianism in Ameri…