Fort Smith School Board ditches Rebel mascot, ‘Dixie’ fight song (AR)

[struggle4progress]

By Chad Hunter
Times Record

FORT SMITH — To a round of cheers, the Fort Smith School Board voted 7-0 to retire Southside High School’s Rebel mascot and “Dixie” fight song Monday night ...

“Dixie and Johnny Reb and the Confederacy is negative symbolism for a lot of black people,” he said. “I can’t speak for all black people, but it has a lot of negative symbolism to me.”

A former police officer said his daughter who attends Southside is “genuinely offended” by the Rebel mascot ...

The use of “Dixie” as the school’s fight song will be banned for the upcoming 2015-16 year, while the mascot will be phased out for the 2016-17 year. Other Rebel-related monikers like the Dixie Belles drill team, Confederette girls’ volleyball team and Johnny Rebs choir will also be changed, according to school district officials ...

http://arkansasnews.com/news/arkansas/fort-smith-school-board-ditches-rebel-mascot-dixie-fight-song

[Hekate]

1. Encouraging news, for sure.

<-- the real flag

[Journeyman]

2. "Dixie" is a Northern song, fairly claimed by Abraham Lincoln as the Union's lawful prize. . .

On 10 April 1865, one day after the surrender of General Robert E. Lee, Lincoln addressed a White House crowd:

I propose now closing up by requesting you play a certain piece of music or a tune. I thought "Dixie" one of the best tunes I ever heard ... I had heard that our adversaries over the way had attempted to appropriate it. I insisted yesterday that we had fairly captured it ... I presented the question to the Attorney-General, and he gave his opinion that it is our lawful prize ... I ask the Band to give us a good turn upon it.

http://democraticthinker.wordpress.com/2010/03/19/abraham-lincoln-i-wish-i-was-in-dixie/

We have to be more diligent and not let the haters steal our possessions.

[struggle4progress]

4. Here are the original lyrics

but I'm rather partial to this version

[left-of-center2012]

3. Great news

I lived in Ft Smith for a year and was shocked at the racism I, a white man, observed. It appeared to me that many locals lived as if it was the 1940s and not 2005.