The Blowhard
07-15-2002, 04:07 AM
Dixie Melody 'Not Patriotic'
A black singer objecting to the song "Rock-a-Bye Your Baby With a Dixie Melody" being scheduled as part of a Sept. 11 memorial concert in Maitland, Fla., quit rather than take part in the event because she said the song connotes slavery, reports the Orlando Sentinel.
The song, made famous in 1918 by performer Al Jolson, includes lyrics such as "Mammy" and "Old Black Joe." It - along with "God Bless America," "America the Beautiful," "Proud to Be an American," and others - was due to be part of a patriotic concert in town later this month.
But Denise Beumer, who was scheduled to sing two solos in the show, said she was offended by the words.
"It's not patriotic," she said. "When we are saying the Pledge of Allegiance and singing 'God Bless America,' that means something to me. But then when we throw this song in, it's almost like a mockery of 9/11."
The group's conductor and music director offered to change "Mammy" to "Mommy" and "Old Black Joe" to "Old Man Joe" in his version, but Beumer said that wasn't enough.
She quit, and now she is asking the Maitland City Council to cut the city's $5,000 annual funding of the choir.
<img src=http://home.ix.netcom.com/~camman/_uimages/Heck.gif>
A black singer objecting to the song "Rock-a-Bye Your Baby With a Dixie Melody" being scheduled as part of a Sept. 11 memorial concert in Maitland, Fla., quit rather than take part in the event because she said the song connotes slavery, reports the Orlando Sentinel.
The song, made famous in 1918 by performer Al Jolson, includes lyrics such as "Mammy" and "Old Black Joe." It - along with "God Bless America," "America the Beautiful," "Proud to Be an American," and others - was due to be part of a patriotic concert in town later this month.
But Denise Beumer, who was scheduled to sing two solos in the show, said she was offended by the words.
"It's not patriotic," she said. "When we are saying the Pledge of Allegiance and singing 'God Bless America,' that means something to me. But then when we throw this song in, it's almost like a mockery of 9/11."
The group's conductor and music director offered to change "Mammy" to "Mommy" and "Old Black Joe" to "Old Man Joe" in his version, but Beumer said that wasn't enough.
She quit, and now she is asking the Maitland City Council to cut the city's $5,000 annual funding of the choir.
<img src=http://home.ix.netcom.com/~camman/_uimages/Heck.gif>