I think it's important not to throw the baby out with the bathwater. First seperate the songs that were hateful from the ones that were merely naive. I can't think of any Stephen Foster song that were hateful. Preserve the originals in books but to sing them I think it's up to each individual singer to decide what words he or she will sing. Many of these songs, including "Ole Black Joe," are beautiful songs and should not be lost.

Minstrel songs were the begining of American pop music. There were minstel songs written by blacks for a pop audience. Also, blues songs and other songs by blacks for a black audiences in the 1920s and 30s would refer to differences between black people, brown people, yellow people, and white people. They would also on occasion use the "N" word. No one has ever minded that these songs were altered to sing to a modern audience. Often "white folks" was changed to "rich folks", reflecting the politcal agenda of folkies in the forties.