I sing the old music because of its merits as music, but when we formed a group to do period stuff in public, we had to find a balance. The racism goes much deeper than burnt cork and ebonics, including many instances of citing a (presumably Black) bumpkin describing something he does not understand. (E.g. a cutaway coat--"His coat's so big that he can't pay the tailor, and it don't go halfway 'round." Kingdom Comin'). Etc., etc. That's racial stereotyping too. But I rationalize singing those lines unaltered by the thought that after all this time, no one in the audience will take it that way unless somebody (like me) explains it. My rule of thumb is just to drop "de" Black dialect and the obvious epithets. Where I go from there depends on the audience. If we're doing a "wallpaper" gig, then we won't sing Kingdom Comin' or "Little Log Cabin Down the Lane." But if we are performing for an audience that will pay attention to intros, we will do both, d-word and all, because not doing them is throwing the baby out with the bath water. If you get past the word [Darkey] & listen to the words, you have two very insightful glimpses of human (not just Black) nature, "Kingdom" at a sadly naive moment when it was thought that Emancipation would fix everything, and "Down the Lane" in a poignant moment when it is realized that there is no free lunch, and even Abolition had a down side. Beyond the many worthwhile things said in previous posts, I agree that victimization is a bit overdone at times. I recall an African American talk show participant complaining about being called "colored." When I was a kid, that was the polite choice, and no offense was meant. I guess he let his NAACP membership run out! Thanks for this forum!!

Chicken Charlie