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Move To Ban The Eyes of Texas

Slick16

By Slick16
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DaysOff

DaysOff 7,698

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Posted
Jtfc
This
“Gordon said the song was established in 1903 during a period of lynchings and Jim Crow society, but he did not offer the assembly a solution for whether they should sing the song or not.  “
 
 
So was the Ford Motor Company...
I'm also a Ford man.
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Mappable

Mappable 37

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Edmund "Ted" Gordon makes $181,751 a year to stir the pot.

$1,196,305 per year for all the salaries below:

https://salaries.texastribune.org/university-of-texas-at-austin/departments/department-of-african-and-african-diaspora-studies/positions/associate-professor/

Edmund T. Gordon $181,751
Cherise Smith $154,394
Stephen H. Marshall $129,000
Minkah Makalani $119,178
Lisa B. Thompson $112,741
Natasha Tinsley $111,147
Kevin M. Foster $106,985
Simone Arlene Browne $96,929
Marcelo Jorge De Paula Paixao $94,200
Omoniyi Afolabi $90,000

 

 

 

 

 

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Grade of D as in David

Grade of D as in David 13,253

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What pisses me off most about this is that there are still very real problems regarding discrimination and race in this country (BLM, etc) and this fuckwad spends his fucking time and energy on a fucking school song? How about trying to remove the turd from the punchbowl before arguing whether to drink it with paper or plastic cups. 

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High Plains Drifter

High Plains Drifter 10,937

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The eyes of Texas are upon you
The eyes of Texas are upon you
All the live long days
The eyes of Texas are upon you
And you cannot get away

Do not think you can escape them
From night till early in the morn
The eyes of Texas are upon you
Till Gabriel blows his horn
 

Somebody please highlight the racist parts for me.

(Is there a verse I'm not aware of)
 

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wood

wood 10,962

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12 minutes ago, Neonmoon said:

History repeating...

http://abcnews.go.com/OnCampus/story?id=7160813&page=1

2009 Article. 

Huh ... surprisingly sensible take here:

Quote

Micheondra Williams, a College of Liberal Arts sociology major, learned about the alma mater's history from a friend.

"I have to admit that I was a little bit shocked to read about the song's history," she said. "But there aren't any words that put me down or degrade me, or make me feel negatively about myself or anyone else."

"I feel if we were to research other things we do, or participate in, we would find many things can be traced back to a time much different than today."

 

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Celery Man

Celery Man 20,607

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I still didn’t read the part where it indicated that the song had a racist past. Maybe I was groaning too loudly to catch it. Texas was rife with racism when the song became the alma mater? At some point early in its history it was performed in a minstrel show? Waiting for the part where the song is racist.

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Chet Steadman

Chet Steadman 940

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Posted (edited)
33 minutes ago, High Plains Drifter said:

The eyes of Texas are upon you
The eyes of Texas are upon you
All the live long days
The eyes of Texas are upon you
And you cannot get away

Do not think you can escape them
From night till early in the morn
The eyes of Texas are upon you
Till Gabriel blows his horn
 

Somebody please highlight the racist parts for me.

(Is there a verse I'm not aware of)
 

It was right there under our noses all along.  “The eyes” “upon you” is clearly a metaphor for Johnny Plantation watching over his slaves.  

And, ”do not think you can escape...”. <shudder>.  

Edited by Chet Steadman
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Uncle Nate

Uncle Nate 2,097

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20 minutes ago, High Plains Drifter said:

The eyes of Texas are upon you
The eyes of Texas are upon you
All the live long days
The eyes of Texas are upon you
And you cannot get away

Do not think you can escape them
From night till early in the morn
The eyes of Texas are upon you
Till Gabriel blows his horn
 

Somebody please highlight the racist parts for me.

(Is there a verse I'm not aware of)
 

 

"You cannot get away.

Do not think you can escape them.

From night till early in the morn."

 

Clearly it is celebrating slavery.

 

[/sarcasm]

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TwiceHorn

TwiceHorn 30,851

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Posted (edited)

The first comment is pretty good:

 

Quote

So, anything written, created, invented, or sung during a loosely-specified period of time, in which "anti-black" sentiment existed to some unknown degree, within a state that spans 269 thousand square miles, whether that thing that was written, created, invented, or sung was directly or indirectly attributed to said period of time and to some of its inhabitants, may or may not be, in fact, racist or have racist undertones, and should therefore be banished from existence. Am I understanding the argument here clearly?

Also when Dale Watson sings "excape," that really grinds my gears.

Edited by TwiceHorn
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formermav43

formermav43 4,599

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38 minutes ago, Celery Man said:

I still didn’t read the part where it indicated that the song had a racist past. Maybe I was groaning too loudly to catch it. Texas was rife with racism when the song became the alma mater? At some point early in its history it was performed in a minstrel show? Waiting for the part where the song is racist.

That's it, as far as I've been able to find.

By that logic, we should shutter the university entirely.

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Anastasis

Anastasis 23,214

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Jakob Lucas, a liberal arts representative, said the assembly should stand by its values of representing all students.  

“Unless anyone legitimately thinks that we should add a verse on at the end where we address the systemic oppression that comes from this song … then we can’t address it; we can’t use it as a mechanism of education,” said Lucas, a government freshman. “As representatives, we have to stand by our values … I’d be willing to bet that there are a lot of people who share our concerns.”

 

 

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TornACL

TornACL 7,654

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Quote

Unless anyone legitimately thinks that we should add a verse on at the end where we address the systemic oppression that comes from this song … then we can’t address it; we can’t use it as a mechanism of education

 

The Eyes of Texas are upon you
All the live long day
The Eyes of Texas are upon you
You cannot get away
From white male corporate oppression,
Police brutality and implicit bias
The Eyes of Texas are upon you
Until gender roles are eliminated entirely

 

I don't know it doesn't have the same ring to it.

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Chopper

Chopper 16,666

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Posted (edited)

I get why some of you find this outrageous. I didn't realize the song was originally performed at a minstrel show. I don't get the connection between the song and having it sung by people in black face.  Also learning the song was borne of a former UT president being enamored with Robert E. Lee...The song has a much more interesting history than I knew. Still, I don't see what would be gained by "banning" it although that seems to be an overstatement. I see only where the proposal was to stop signing it before student gov't meetings...and if they don't want to sing anything before student gov't meetings I don't really blame them. 

Edited by Chopper
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TornACL

TornACL 7,654

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1 minute ago, Chopper said:

I get why some of you find this outrageous. I didn't realize the song was originally performed at a minstrel show. I don't get the connection between the song and having it sung by people in black face.  Also learning the song was borne of a former UT president being enamored with Robert E. Lee...The song has a much more interesting history than I knew. Still, I don't see what would be gained by "banning" it although that seems to be an overstatement. I see only where the proposal was to stop signing it before student gov't meetings...and if they don't want to sing anything before student gov't meetings I don't really blame them. 

When I was in school, the story went that the song was sung as part of a "variety" show. Which I guess was technically true, but missing a pretty important piece of information. 

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formermav43

formermav43 4,599

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13 minutes ago, TornACL said:

 

The Eyes of Texas are upon you
All the live long day
The Eyes of Texas are upon you
You cannot get away
From white male corporate oppression,
Police brutality and implicit bias
The Eyes of Texas are upon you
Until gender roles are eliminated entirely

 

I don't know it doesn't have the same ring to it.

Change that last line to "Till Gabriel blows zir horn" for starters. Same message, much more catchy.

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phdhorn

phdhorn 6,224

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This is old news; actually has been a sore subject at times for decades.  This was from about 10 years ago...

In the tl;dr:
- song was written to make fun of University President at the time who used the saying a lot; 
- written as a parody; 
- first performed by 4 UT dudes in blackface at a minstrel show: 
- black guy in the article said he stopped singing it after he found out what its context was

There is no doubt that some students, after finding out about knowing the history of the song, will have a problem with it.  
A lot of stuff has been taken from public purview with less "offensive context" as this. 

This ought to be good :popcorn:  Pandora's box and all...

 

Quote

Longhorns Troubled by School Song's Past

By KAITLYN WELLS
AUSTIN, Texas, March 25, 2009

eyes_of_tx_090325_wmain.jpg

EmaThe boisterous clatter of Darrell K Royal - Texas Memorial stadium on the campus of the University of Texas suddenly calms in response to the electricity in the air. No one knows where it starts, but the chorus of school spirit and pride begins to sound, eventually rising to a cacophony of noise.

As the first notes from the Longhorn band resonate throughout the crowd, nearly 100,000 voices join in. Hands rise into the air with the two outside fingers pointing toward the sky as the much-loved alma mater begins.

"The Eyes of Texas" epitomizes much of what it means to be a Longhorn at the University of Texas.

Sung to the tune of "I've Been Working on the Railroad," the iconic alma mater, however, seems to rub some Longhorns the wrong way.

Stopped Singing

T.J. Finley, who graduated from UT with a bachelor's degree in kinesiology in the spring, stopped singing UT's iconic alma mater completely after being told that the song was first performed by students wearing blackface makeup in a turn-of-the-century minstrel show.

"At first, I was just so shocked that something like this could still exist," said Finley, a graduate student at the Duke University School of Law.

The original manuscript of "The Eyes of Texas" is displayed in the lobby of the Texas Exes Alumni Center. The second stanza is traditionally sung at the opening and closing of all major UT sporting events:

The eyes of Texas are upon you,

All the live long day.

The eyes of Texas are upon you,

You cannot get away.

Do not think you can escape them

At night or early in the morn

The eyes of Texas are upon you

Till Gabriel blows his horn.

Micheondra Williams, a College of Liberal Arts sociology major, learned about the alma mater's history from a friend.

"I have to admit that I was a little bit shocked to read about the song's history," she said. "But there aren't any words that put me down or degrade me, or make me feel negatively about myself or anyone else."

"I feel if we were to research other things we do, or participate in, we would find many things can be traced back to a time much different than today."

Penned in 1903 by John Sinclair, editor of the Cactus yearbook and a UT band member, "The Eyes of Texas" was written at the request of band member Lewis Johnson, who played tuba for the varsity band (now the Longhorn band) and directed the university chorus.

Because the university did not have a school song, Johnson wanted Sinclair's help in writing one that would represent the students and faculty. Johnson, also the program director of the Varsity Minstrel Show that raised funds for the track team, believed the event was the perfect venue for its debut.

Racist Depictions

Minstrel shows of the time consisted of comedic skits, dancing, music and variety acts, often performed by white participants covered in black costume makeup to portray plantation slaves. Black characters were often portrayed as ignorant, lustful and unsympathetic characters.

Better known as "blackface," the performances first came onto the stage in the late 1820 and became popular in the United States from 1841-1870.

The shows began to lose their popularity after the Civil War, when they were replaced by vaudeville performances, which provided a "cleaner" presentation of variety acts catering to the new middle class and urban lifestyles, according to the University of Virginia's Web site.

Robert E. Lee Played Role

Originally, Sinclair wrote the song as a parody to UT president William L. Prather's signature closing statement at all public events. Before becoming president in 1899, Prather was a student at Washington College at Lexington (now Washington and Lee University) in Virginia. He was greatly enamored of its president, Gen. Robert E. Lee, who often told his students and faculty, "The eyes of the South are upon you," according to the Amarillo News-Globe in 1931.

Prather seems to have enjoyed the saying so much he incorporated it into his school addresses and began concluding each speech with: "Remember, the eyes of Texas are upon you."

"The Eyes of Texas" debuted May 12, 1903, at the Hancock Opera House on West Sixth Street. Performed by a quartet of blackface students, accompanied by Sinclair on the banjo, it was apparently an immediate hit with the audience.

Yet, J.R. "Jim" Cannon, one of the group's singers, must have had second thoughts. He was later quoted in the Denison Herald on Sept. 9, 1931, saying, "It was all a joke. We did not know what we were starting."

A variety act gone awry, "The Eyes of Texas" has had a lasting impression on university students of all races. In the fall of 2008, blacks made up 4.4 percent of the entire UT student population, with Asian Americans accounting for 15.1 percent and Hispanics 15.9 percent of UT's 49,984 students.

Today, the Division for Diversity and Community Engagement Office on campus pledges on its Web site to improve diversity in teaching, research and campus services.

'Matter of Perception'

John Fleming, the Longhorn band's first (and still only) black drum major from 1990-'92, works at the campus Center for African and African-American Studies.

Fleming said he understands why students like Finley boycott the song, but doesn't believe that is the best approach to effect change.

"Is it really the song they're boycotting, or are they boycotting the people and what they represented when it was performed at a minstrel show?" Fleming said. "I guess it really is a matter of perception … and I respect them for that."

Finley said he always respected the opinions of classmates who sang the alma mater.

"It doesn't bother me if someone doesn't agree," he said. "You can't force action on anyone. The most important thing to me is letting people know the truth."

Despite what some have called a lack of diversity on campus, others note that the alma mater brings individuals together in support of the university.

"You feel really united as a school," said Kiah Lewis, a current government and UTeach-liberal arts major in the College of Liberal Arts. "As if you're a part of a longstanding tradition each time you hear an audience sing the school song."

http://abcnews.go.com/OnCampus/story?id=7160813&page=1

 

Edited by phdhorn
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BillyBadAss

BillyBadAss 187

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Quote

"Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn published in 1779, with words written by the English poet and Anglican clergyman John Newton (1725–1807).

Newton wrote the words from personal experience. He grew up without any particular religious conviction, but his life's path was formed by a variety of twists and coincidences that were often put into motion by his recalcitrant insubordination. He was pressed (conscripted) into service in the Royal Navy, and after leaving the service, he became involved in the Atlantic slave trade. In 1748, a violent storm battered his vessel off the coast of County Donegal, Ireland, so severely that he called out to God for mercy, a moment that marked his spiritual conversion. He continued his slave trading career until 1754 or 1755, when he ended his seafaring altogether and began studying Christian theology.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazing_Grace

Check that one off the list too.. 

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