University of Maryland marching band will stop playing state song with Confederate ties

The University of Maryland’s marching band will no longer play the state’s song, which was used as a pro-Confederate battle hymn and bashes “the Northern scum.”

The state’s flagship university has suspended the playing of the controversial tune to “evaluate if it is consistent with the values of our institution at this time,” said university spokeswoman Katie Lawson.

The marching band used to play “Maryland, My Maryland” as part of its football pregame show.

Drum major Brian Starace said he and other band members are glad to be getting rid of the association with the Confederacy.

“It was never something I was too proud to be playing,” said the junior music education major. “It’s for the best to get rid of it.”

Some Maryland lawmakers have been calling for years for the state song to be changed.

The university’s move comes shortly after a violent white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va. In the weeks since, cities across the country have been reconsidering their monuments and tributes to the Confederacy.

Earlier this month, Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh had the city’s four Confederate-era monuments removed overnight, citing the “safety and security of our people.”