Walls racist incident
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Anonymous
Perhaps the two white students didn't understand what they were doing or the origin of the song. But, it absolutely has a racist history. Read the lyrics and read about how its been used in history Don't you remember, don't you know, Don't you remember Cotton-eyed Joe? Cotton-eyed Joe, Cotton-eyed Joe, What did make you treat me so? I'd 'a' been married forty year ago Ef it had n't a-been for Cotton-eyed Joe! Cotton-eyed Joe, Cotton-eyed Joe, He was de nig dat sarved me so, — Tuck my gal away fum me, Carried her off to Tennessee. I'd 'a' been married forty year ago If it had n't a-been for Cotton-eyed Joe. Hi's teeth was out an' his nose was flat, His eyes was crossed, — but she did n't mind dat. Kase he was tall, and berry slim, An' so my gal she follered him. I'd 'a' been married forty year ago Ef it had n't a-been for Cotton-eyed Joe. She was de prettiest gal to be found Anywhar in de country round; Her lips was red an' her eyes was bright, Her skin was black but her teeth was white. I'd 'a' been married forty year ago Ef it had n't a-been for Cotton-eyed Joe. Dat gal, she sho' had all my love, An swore fum ne she'd never move, But Joe hoodooed her, don't you see, An' she run off wid him to Tennessee, I'd 'a' been married forty years ago, Ef it hadn't a-been for Cotton-eyed Joe. Thank you (sincerely) for the education on the song. I will talk to my kids the next time we hear it. Here are the lyrics to the current version: If it hadn't been for Cotton-Eye Joe I'd been married long time ago Where did you come from, where did you go? Where did you come from, Cotton-Eye Joe? He came to town like a midwinter storm He rode through the fields, so handsome and strong His eyes was his tools and his smile was his gun But all he had come for was having some fun If it hadn't been for Cotton-Eye Joe I'd been married long time ago Where did you come from, where did you go? Where did you come from, Cotton-Eye Joe? If it hadn't been for Cotton-Eye Joe I'd been married long time ago Where did you come from, where did you go? Where did you come from, Cotton-Eye Joe? |
Anonymous
Perhaps the two white students didn't understand what they were doing or the origin of the song. But, it absolutely has a racist history. Read the lyrics and read about how its been used in history Don't you remember, don't you know, Don't you remember Cotton-eyed Joe? Cotton-eyed Joe, Cotton-eyed Joe, What did make you treat me so? I'd 'a' been married forty year ago Ef it had n't a-been for Cotton-eyed Joe! Cotton-eyed Joe, Cotton-eyed Joe, He was de nig dat sarved me so, — Tuck my gal away fum me, Carried her off to Tennessee. I'd 'a' been married forty year ago If it had n't a-been for Cotton-eyed Joe. Hi's teeth was out an' his nose was flat, His eyes was crossed, — but she did n't mind dat. Kase he was tall, and berry slim, An' so my gal she follered him. I'd 'a' been married forty year ago Ef it had n't a-been for Cotton-eyed Joe. She was de prettiest gal to be found Anywhar in de country round; Her lips was red an' her eyes was bright, Her skin was black but her teeth was white. I'd 'a' been married forty year ago Ef it had n't a-been for Cotton-eyed Joe. Dat gal, she sho' had all my love, An swore fum ne she'd never move, But Joe hoodooed her, don't you see, An' she run off wid him to Tennessee, I'd 'a' been married forty years ago, Ef it hadn't a-been for Cotton-eyed Joe. Interestingly the last iteration of this song was criticized for how it stereotyped white people. |
Anonymous
You are impressively wrong. |
Anonymous
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This is NOT a racist song. Period. Doesn’t anyone remember the techno version from the 90s by some Swedish group? If anything it was making fun of white American stereotypes. It is also a long running *baseball* tradition. https://www.mlb.com/cut4/fernando-rodney-marlins-dance-during-fort-bragg-game-c187828322
It’s entirely possible that the Black child or Walls classmates interpreted the song as racist. But they were wrong. I hope the Walls admin handles this appropriately, but I doubt it. |
Anonymous
| I mean - context matters. what was the point of the video? Are the kids in it popular kids - so it was a "cool" thing? Current version of the song certainly isn't racist (is it?) so why would kids have any idea about original lyrics? |
Anonymous
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All you ever wanted to know about the song:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotton_Eye_Joe_(Rednex_song) |
Anonymous
No, here is the issue. White students took a video of a Black student and posted it with a racist song. You can try to excuse it with ignorance all you want, but those are the facts. Why aren’t people willing to consider the possibility that the students knew EXACTLY what the song was about and made a very clear decision? Racist stuff happens every single day. Intentional racist stuff. You want to find reasons why it couldn’t have been intentional instead of considering the much more likely scenario that it was absolutely intentional. Walls kids are smart. They know how to use the internet. But you’d rather believe that this was all just an innocent mistake because you don’t want to consider that smart white kids can also be vicious racists. It’s time to consider that possibility. Because intent matters, and the white people here are telling you that we don't (or didn't til this thread) know the words to or history of the song. |
Anonymous
The context is that it is a song frequently played at baseball games, and the Tiktok was of a baseball player. Maybe it was intended in a mean spirited way - they should have taken it down on request. But it’s not racist. |
Anonymous
Funny, but research is on my side. Peer groups are also very influential, especially during/after adolescence. 🤷🏻♀️ |
Anonymous
| Teenagers don’t listen to that song for fun these days. It’s an old song. They knew what they were doing. |
Anonymous
| Also, if other students had such a problem with it that they went to admin and protested, that means that teens very much understand the connotation of the song. |
Anonymous
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And people wonder why so many White families end up moving away or going private by High School.
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Anonymous
Are you staking the position that white families leave DC because they cannot be racist without pushback? That strikes me as a very cynical take on the white residents of MoCo and Nova, but maybe you know better than I. |
Anonymous
There’s zero basis to make that accusation, and I hope these kids’ parents get lawyers to fight the false accusation of racism. The song is frequently played at baseball games to this day. It’s entirely possible that there is some movement to tag it as offensive in retrospect but zero evidence that it was a racist act here. And of course, making this incident into a circus does the exact opposite of what’s intended. If people genuinely take offense at the song now, then what should happen is education about it to change norms. Not a witch hunt with extreme consequences- no doubt some people want to threaten these kids with explusion, loss of college admissions, etc. |
Anonymous
DP. My white kid was falsely accused of racism in DCPS. It certainly is one factor in considering moving. I’d like to have him in a school where this is less likely. |