the problem: RacisM and American Folk Music

These songs, were written and performed by white people involved in minstrel shows (a form of entertainment in which white people performed in blackface). Today, many U.S. children and adults still learn these songs, know little or nothing about their history, and perform the songs for entertainment. 

Examples: Oh! Susanna, Camptown Races, Angelina Baker

These songs may have originally been created by enslaved Black people, or by European ancestors of colonial settlers in America but were then appropriated and adapted to have lyrics that demeaned Black people and/or were performed by white people involved in minstrel shows. 

Note: Appropriation of the work of Black and other BIPOC musicians by white performers remains an issue in other musical genres to this day. Folk is no exception to this unjust pattern.

"But I'm not singing the racist lyrics," you might find yourself wanting to say when you learn that a favorite song had lyrics you would never ever sing. OK, thank goodness you have not been singing the racist lyrics. But it's not OK (as in not morally OK) to go back to enjoying the song as entertainment once you've learned about the racist history. 

Yes, you have free speech. You have the right to sing these songs. But should you? We'd argue no. 

When we learn the history of a song, we should not try to forget it. We believe that what we learn can and should modify how we choose to interact with and use things. 

Yes, this kind of learning can be hard --and you might initially feel ashamed and defensive of your past actions. But we encourage you to step into it, know that you are doing your best, and... keep on learning. 

No.

If you decide that you don't want to play those songs anymore you are not cancelling them, you are not ignoring history, and your choice is not going to result in any "sugar coating" of the truth. You are simply saying "YUCK, I don't want to play racist songs unless I am a person who is playing those songs so I can teach people about the history." 

Please take a moment to think about just how creepy it is that a little kid might be innocently singing along to a song with a racist history. Ask yourself, "would I want my sweet little niece/nephew/child/grandchild to be introduced to this song, grow to love it and then learn of its racist past?" We hope the answer is no.

We are working on a complete list of songs and will update the site as that develops. In the meantime, our initial list of songs to avoid playing or listening to for entertainment includes:

• Oh! Susanna
• Angelina Baker
• Camptown Races
• Boil Them Cabbage
• Dinah Blow Your Horn
• Turkey in the Straw
• Old Dan Tucker
• Swanee River
• Polly Wolly Doodle

Please contact us to share information about other songs as well.

No.

We get why you might ask that at first but please, take a moment to think about it and you can see that "but we will erase history" is an absurd reason to keep playing racist songs for fun.

The songs and the racist history will not be forgotten if white musicians stop casually playing them.

You can find links to articles and Learn More here.

And please let us know if you have other suggestions about ways to learn more.

Thank you. Please contact us here.