Sagebrush Sam,

Thank you so much for your kind words. I am very grateful.

I agree that nothing will be solved via diatribes one way or another. The historical complexity of the meaning of the Minstrel Show has to be taken into account. There were African-American Minstrels as well as white folks who "corked up".

I still believe that Dixie is a great tune. And it's with sadness that I feel that I can't and won't sing it today. Daniel Emmett was a gifted songwriter and I love to sing Old Dan Tucker which he also wrote. There are a great many Minstrel tunes that are simply wonderful. The Georgia Camp Meeting is a great tune with offensive lyrics. From the Northern side, there is another great tune about the burning of Atlanta by Sherman's march to Savannah, Marching Through Georgia which undoubtably some will find offensive. If we sing these songs, it's in the context of presenting American history through the songs of the Civil War. We sing the Bonny Blue Flag and Rally Round the Flag to juxtapose the sentiments of the time. Another song is The Unreconstructed Rebel. This might raise some hackles too.

There are those today who proclaim that jazz is African American and there is no room for white people in it. This is short-sighted and defies the history of jazz which has always been an integrated music because it draws from so many different musical sources. Hispanic, marching band music, and as of late, European composers such as Stravinsky, Ravel, Debussey and Bartok.

I believe this discussion bears more light and less heat. I think Dixie is an important song historically and perhaps from a dialogue about it we can learn more about of the complexities of our history.

I'm glad this thread was started. And I think that the question "why is Dixie considered racist" is valid. I hope we can answer it with moderation and intelligence.



Frank Hamilton