Still on the subject of the removal of the Confederate flag from the top of the General Lee car in "The Dukes of Hazzard."
Something like this happened with the University of Georgia's marching band, which was established in 1905 as part of the UGA Military Science Department. Since then, it has grown from 20 cadets to over 400 and is nationally-known. It was originally called The Dixie Redcoat Marching Band.
Only, today it is called The Redcoat Marching Band. Back in the '70s, the word Dixie became a racially-charged epitaph and was dropped along with the playing of "Dixie." A lot of people, including myself as I was a student there at the time were definitely not happy with the decisions.
I remember a political cartoon in the student newspaper in the time that particularly hit the point. It went something like this:
First, some were offended by the word Dixie in the band's name, so that was dropped and it became just The Redcoat Marching Band.
Second, someone remembered that British troops wore red coats and we had to fight them for our independence so that was dropped and it became The Marching Band.
Oh, my, then someone else said that marching was militaristic so that had to be dropped and UGA's band became The Band.
Then, someone remembered their ancestors were killed by a band of Indians, so that had to be dropped.
Not True, of course, but it could happen.
Now, "The" performs at half time.
Wait, yet another person hates short words so the The was also dropped. Now performs at half time. Let's hope no one objects to empty space.
Now, Is Everybody Real Happy? --Old Secsh
1 comment:
I remember when Mr. Roger Dancz made the epic decision to drop "Dixi" from the Redcoat branding. Alumni and students were livid. I cannot think of any man in the State of Georgia who was more unpopular back than. Many people felt that he did that to attract black students to his program. In the fall of 1974 a handful of us took on the task of being the first black students to wear the beloved Redcoat uniform. No playing Dixie and black folks in the band, what in the world had gone wrong at UGA?!
Roger wanted all of his band members to feel like they were a part of the family. There was another reason to go along with that tough decision. The man was just tired of playing Dixie over and over and over and over again at every football game year after year. Someone was always demanding the band play it each time he picked up his baton. He wanted to show the world that UGA one of the best bands in the USA, as well as The South. He could not do it playing one song all the time.
He was right!
Post a Comment