Civil rights groups call for collapsed Baltimore bridge to be renamed when it's rebuilt because legacy of national anthem author Francis Scott Key is 'clouded with racism accusations'

Civil rights groups are calling for the collapsed Baltimore bridge to be renamed when it's rebuilt, citing accusations of racism against national anthem author Francis Scott Key. Civil rights groups are calling for the collapsed Baltimore bridge to be renamed when it's rebuilt, citing accusations of racism against national anthem author Francis Scott Key Key was a salve owner and helped create the American Colonization Society, which promoted the emigration of black Americans to Africa They have asked for the bridge to be renamed after late congressman Parren J Mitchel, the first black man from Maryland elected to the US House of Representatives Democratic gov Moore told Fox News he remains 'laser-focused on providing closure to these families, clearing the channel, and rebuilding the bridge.' The Caucus in Maryland has also asked that the the Senator Frederick Malkus Memorial Bridge be renamed after Maryland civil rights icon Gloria Richardson The group cited the conservative senator's opposition to desegregation in the 1960s and 1970s Gloria Richardson, head of the Cambridge Nonviolent Action Committee, pushes a National Guardsman's bayonet aside as she moves among a crowd of African Americans to convince them to disperse in Cambridge, Maryland 'Morley, in turn, cites as his sole source a quote in the 1937 biography Francis Scott Key: Life and Times by Edward S. Delaplaine. Two others survived President Joe Biden delivers remarks near the wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, in the background, while standing with Maryland Governor Wes Moore, right The US Army Corps of Engineers announced a 'tentative timeline' Thursday, saying in a news release that it expects to open a limited access channel to the port within the next four weeks measuring some 280 feet wide by 35 feet deep.