Results 1 to 9 of 9

Thread: Kate Smith's God Bless America pulled over racism claims

  1. #1

    Kate Smith's God Bless America pulled over racism claims

    The Philadelphia Flyers have draped a black cloth over a statue of singer Kate Smith that sits outside the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia after unearthing songs with racially insensitive lyrics by Smith in the 1930s.

    This comes a day after the New York Yankees announced they will suspend the playing of Smith's rendition of "God Bless America" during the seventh-inning stretch at Yankee Stadium. The club had been playing the song since 2001 in the wake of 9/11.

    The Flyers began playing Smith's version of "God Bless America" in place of "The Star Spangled Banner" in 1969. Smith performed the song throughout the 1970s at Flyers' games, which led to the team erecting a statue of her in 1987.

    Flyers officials said in a statement, "We have recently become aware that several songs performed by Kate Smith contain offensive lyrics that do not reflect our values as an organization.

    As we continue to look into this serious matter, we are removing Kate Smith's recording of 'God Bless America' from our library and covering up the statue that stands outside of our arena..."

    https://www.latimes.com/sports/sport...419-story.html

  2. #2
    What are her racially offensive lyrics? I don't know her music that well.

  3. #3
    Senior Member Romans828's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2015
    Location
    7th Heaven
    Posts
    3,642
    Thanked: 3221
    Quote Originally Posted by curly sue View Post
    What are her racially offensive lyrics? I don't know her music that well.
    Me either, but I've always loved her rendition of "God Bless America."

    … And who are these people who go looking for "racisim" in dang near everything? - They need to get a life - Unless she sang songs that talked of lynchings, the promotion and love of slavery, or that used the N-word, etc. who cares?

  4. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Romans828 For This Useful Post:

    curly sue (04-22-2019), Ezekiel 33 (04-25-2019)

  5. #4
    Senior Member Ezekiel 33's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2015
    Location
    Northern Lower Michigan
    Posts
    3,970
    Thanked: 2924
    Quote Originally Posted by Romans828 View Post
    Me either, but I've always loved her rendition of "God Bless America."

    … And who are these people who go looking for "racisim" in dang near everything? - They need to get a life - Unless she sang songs that talked of lynchings, the promotion and love of slavery, or that used the N-word, etc. who cares?
    But those are ALL the things that the Demoncrats have historically stood for.

  6. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by curly sue View Post
    What are her racially offensive lyrics? I don't know her music that well.
    From what I'm understanding it was a song call Why Darkies Were Born that was described as a satirical view of racism:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/That%2...kies_Were_Born

    A black civil rights activist of the time recorded it also:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Robeson

  7. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to krystian For This Useful Post:

    curly sue (04-26-2019), Romans828 (04-26-2019)

  8. #6
    Senior Member Romans828's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2015
    Location
    7th Heaven
    Posts
    3,642
    Thanked: 3221
    Kate Smith is dead - The song was recorded in 1931 - People PLEASE stop dredging up old, acts of IGNORANCE, and let's address issues that matter TODAY!!!

  9. The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to Romans828 For This Useful Post:

    curly sue (04-26-2019), fuego (04-26-2019), Nikos (04-28-2019)

  10. #7
    Seems they might have jumped the gun but they've already banned her songs and removed her statue...



    Kate Smith: Racist, or champion of tolerance?

    A radio address singer Kate Smith gave during World War II, called 'The Value of Tolerance,' counters recent accusations of racism over two songs in her catalogue...

    https://www.cnn.com/videos/tv/2019/0...-tolerance.cnn

  11. #8
    Yankees fans threaten boycott after ban of Kate Smith's 'God Bless America'

    -Kate Smith's rendition of "God Bless America" has been scrapped at Yankee Stadium, but Bronx Bomber fans are going to bat for her over allegations of racism.

    Smith's niece, Suzy Andron, told The Post she is "honored" by the groundswell of support for the late singer among fans and media.

    "Most are solidly behind the positive notion that this is a misunderstanding by a few people who took two or three of her songs [out of 3,000 that she recorded] out of context and inflated a story that my Aunt Kathryn must have been a racist," Andron said.

    "Unfortunately, the Yankees bought into it."

    She added: "Most reasonable people realize that it was a misunderstood, knee-jerk over-reaction which they hope will be corrected soon."

    One superfan told the team he was "boycotting the Yankees until Kate Smith is back, otherwise I am kissing a half century of loyalty goodbye."

    Bronx-born Bombers diehard James Foley fired off an angry missive to Yankee owner Hal Steinbrenner, snarling, "Your father [George Steinbrenner] is turning in his grave."

    Foley reasoned that if the Yankees judged past and current employees as they did Smith, Babe Ruth and other legends would be scrubbed from the stadium next.

    "Why not purge the lot of them and be honest about your political correctness. Remove the plaques from Monument Park," he wrote...

    https://nypost.com/2019/05/11/yankee...bless-america/

  12. The Following User Says Thank You to krystian For This Useful Post:

    curly sue (05-13-2019)

  13. #9
    Administrator fuego's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2015
    Posts
    16,274
    Thanked: 14130
    Blog Entries
    1
    Good for them. I hope the pressure gets really heavy and they keep it up until it is changed. I'm not optimistic, but we'll see.

  14. The Following User Says Thank You to fuego For This Useful Post:

    curly sue (05-13-2019)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
You can can stop worrying about major, expensive repair costs with an extended service plan for your Oldsmobile. Many vehicle repairs can cost thousands of dollars in unexpected expense, now may be the time to consider an extended service plan for your vehicle.