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Could be they just HATE her rendition so they are using the racist thing to shut it down...
No, it could Not be the Yankees and Flyers after decades of playing the song both suddenly decided they hate the song. It's the racist thing, pure and simple.
Some posters seem so simple minded and it is truly sad.
Keep in mind that you must separate art from the artists.
Individuals are flawed, and prisoners of their generations. But the wisdom of some of these men and women is not. It transcends and illuminates well beyond their generation, which is why they remain relevant.
The distinction between art and artist must be made if we are to reconcile our morality to the words and deeds of the past. We need to be able to draw on the past’s positive, while having the presence of mind to shun the negative. Do you want your children to judge you based on ONE thing you did or said wrong based on their generation's idea of morality? Please.
Considering that Paul Robeson also recorded this song, I think some very important context is missing from this story.
yep
and..
Mildred Bailey a native American singer also sang it too
and
"under a Harlem Moon" recorded by Don Redman an African American singer had very similar lyrics "They just live for dancing, They're never blue or forlorn, Ain't no sin to laugh or grin, That's why darkies were born."
We Dems are being represented by some radical loonies lately. You can't judge someone's past by today's standards. Actually, both parties are extreme and those of us in the middle are left out.
Thank you. I agree. There' s nothing racist about the lyrics and if you dig you can find plenty of things much worse..If you cover Kate Smith you have to cover early feminists who believed in eugenics. You'd have to remove hundreds maybe thousands of products and services whose founders or inventors had ideals that wouldn't hold up today. Heck the SAT started out as a way to keep Jews out of college but it's still used Do we have to throw away other useful things because of the questionable history
Quote:
Originally Posted by Loveshiscountry View Post
Yea it is garbage. Back then white people actually did work in the fields. That was before many Americans, of all groups became soft. That's what relying on handouts does.
Of course someone always has to bring up handouts.
Replace the word "Darkies" with Polacks, Jews, Italians, Chinese, etc., or whatever your ethnic makeup is, and see if you find the song offensive. If enough people do then corporations will take cover. It's the corporations that decided this course of action.
Regarding holding someone to today's standards, why not. They had a brain and knew right from wrong. You don't get a pass for wrong actions and beliefs because everyone else was doing it too.
Kate Smith’s niece said she is “appalled” by the decision of the Philadelphia Flyers to remove a statue of the singer after the team learned that she performed racially insensitive songs nearly 90 years ago.
“Aunt Katherine was probably one of the kindest people I’ve ever met,” Suzy Andron told CBS Philly. “She was certainly anything but a prejudice person. She loved everybody.”
The Flyers said Sunday in a statement that the songs “Pickaninny Heaven” and “That’s Why Darkies Were Born,” recorded by Smith in the 1930s, “include lyrics and sentiments that are incompatible with the values of our organization, and evoke painful and unacceptable themes.”
Defenders of the second song — which includes the lyrics, “Someone had to pick the cotton … that’s why darkies were born” — describe it as a satire and point out that Paul Robeson, an African American singer, also recorded it.
One poster on another forum posted a interesting post on the subject then I thought it was worth to share if it's ok with everyone.
Quote:
To erase or "adjust the placement" of history is a blight on society.
“And now folks, I’m gonna sing this next song for a lot a little colored children listening in an orphanage in New York City. Here ya are, kids.” “Great big watermelons” and “pork chops right outside your door,” with a “Suwanee River made of real lemonade,” in the heaven that’s made just for “pickaninnies.” She sings to the orphans, “…though the good lord took your mammy, she’ll be waiting there for ya.”
LOL...now that is some stupid sheet right there.
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