{"id":9628,"date":"2019-04-27T20:46:16","date_gmt":"2019-04-28T00:46:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/intramuralist.com\/?p=9628"},"modified":"2019-04-27T20:46:24","modified_gmt":"2019-04-28T00:46:24","slug":"walking-in-a-woke-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/intramuralist.com\/?p=9628","title":{"rendered":"walking in a woke world"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cGod bless America, land that I love\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For decades Kate Smith\u2019s version of Irving Berlin\u2019s beloved classic has proudly played in stadiums and arenas across the country.  But no more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even though the New York Yankees have played the song during the seventh inning stretch since 9\/11 \u2014 and hockey\u2019s Philadelphia Flyers have played the song since 1969 \u2014 believing their on-ice-success increased with the musical blessing \u2014 both professional sports teams discontinued the practice last week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After an anonymous tip from a sports fan, the Yankees and Flyers each announced they were stopping Smith\u2019s rendition because of racist lyrics in a few of her other songs, specifically in her 1931 hit, \u201cThat\u2019s Why Darkies Are Born.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tune originated from a Broadway revue and included the following lyrics:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSomeone had to pick the cotton<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Someone had to pick the corn<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Someone had to slave and be able to sing<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That’s why darkies were born\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some have suggested that the song was meant to be a satire of white supremacy, especially since it was also recorded at the time by Paul Robeson, the actor\/singer and famous civil-rights activist, as he was black; my limited sense this far away and this many decades later is that such is hard to discern with certainty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reality is that the above words are wrong and inappropriate now. We walk in a \u201cwoke\u201d world \u2014 one which is more alert to societal injustice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But eight decades ago, we weren\u2019t so \u201cwoke.\u201d Hence, how is best for us to handle now?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is it accurate to conclude Smith was a racist?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Note that Smith raised over $600 million for World War II, and before she passed away, Pres. Reagan awarded her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America’s highest civilian honor. As shared by Reagan: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe voice of Kate Smith is known and loved by millions of Americans, young and old. In war and peace, it has been an inspiration. Those simple but deeply moving words, ‘God bless America,’ have taken on added meaning for all of us because of the way Kate Smith sang them. Thanks to her they have become a cherished part of all our lives, an undying reminder of the beauty, the courage and the heart of this great land of ours. In giving us a magnificent, selfless talent like Kate Smith, God has truly blessed America.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But still, does singing those lyrics make her a racist? And if she was a racist, should any acknowledgement of her now be allowed? Should we be giving her any credit or attention?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please know I do not pen this post thinking I have it figured out nor know the exact right thing to do. I believe in deep respect for all ethnic heritage and wish intentional offense to no one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet I still sit here somewhat puzzled\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Society is different now. What people know now is not what people knew then. What people accept now is not what they accepted decades ago. It\u2019s different. Should history thus be erased? Should we remove any, even reference to another if it contradicts our current values?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I only ask the questions, friends. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But I do have more\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a \u201cwoke\u201d world, is there forgiveness for previous unawareness?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFrom the mountains, to the prairies, to the oceans white with foam,\u201d can we forgive behaviors and beliefs which clash with today\u2019s standards? Should we?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Again, I only ask the questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Respectfully\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AR
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cGod bless America, land that I love\u2026\u201d For decades Kate Smith\u2019s version of Irving Berlin\u2019s beloved classic has proudly played in stadiums and arenas across the country.  But no more. Even though the New York Yankees have played the song during the seventh inning stretch since 9\/11 \u2014 and hockey\u2019s Philadelphia Flyers have played the … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “walking in a woke world”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9628","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-event"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9628","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9628"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9628\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9629,"href":"http:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9628\/revisions\/9629"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9628"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9628"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9628"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}