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UT sophomore Zion James spoke at the Capitol to demand the retirement of "The Eyes of Texas."
The song, which debuted at a minstrel show and has lyrics traced back to Confederate leader Robert E. Lee, was analyzed by a 24-person committee to evaluate its meaning. After months, the committee ruled that the song had no "overtly racist" intent, resulting in UT keeping the alma mater.
At the Capitol on Monday, UT sophomore Zion James stood in the building overlooking Congress Avenue with the words "Black Lives Matter" painted on it and demanded the following from the school:
- Immediate retirement of "The Eyes of Texas"
- More financial aid and scholarships allocated to Black students
- More affordable housing
- Appointment of more Black professors and teacher's assistants
- Trainings on race, anti-racism and UT's racist history
- Transparency between UT administration and students
- All buildings named after people with racist histories be renamed for people who have worked to make the UT community more equitable
Speakers included President of the NAACP Gary Bledsoe, University of Texas history professor Alberto Martínez, State Representative Ron Reynolds and NAACP Houston President Bishop James Dixon. Martínez, who filed a lawsuit against the school for racial-related pay discrepancy, said he once enjoyed the song while he was a student before he knew the meaning behind it.
"To me, before I walked into this, the song was a song I sang. It's a song that I've enjoyed at the stadium," Martínez said. "I can understand how the people of Texas loved it. What I didn't know when I sang the song, was that the song was based (on racism)."
Martínez mentioned how The University of Mississippi stopped playing its song, "Dixie," after the song's historical context was unearthed in 2016. Ole Miss said the change was made to create a more welcoming environment for all its students.
Martínez said if Ole Miss can change a song with similar roots, UT should not be daunted by the change.
"Why is UT so slow to change? UT does not have a democracy so certainly there was no poll of the faculty, there was no poll of the students, there was no poll of the athletes, there was no poll of the marching band," Martínez said. "Instead, mainly anonymous administrators represented by our president Jay Hartzell, decided that this song would stick."
Martínez worked on an independent analysis of the song's history for 15 days, during which time he said he found a number of things that were not in the original committee's report. The song was inspired by a quote from confederate general Robert E. Lee, was written the day minstrel shows started and played at shows that were intended for white people to mock Black people.
The 58-page report by the committee instead states that the history of the song reflects the history of the country at that time, and while the song was performed at a minstrel show in blackface, it was intended to "parody the famous phrases of the university president," rather than Lee.
Martínez questioned why he was not asked to be part of the committee. Students who testified at the news conference said they also did not feel they were represented in the committee. James said he was shocked but not surprised when he found out the song would stay while the committee was composed of "key players at UT."
"I did not see a lot of representation for us, I did not see our Black Student Alliance president on that council," James said. "It was just disheartening to see simply because the people who are fighting for this and have been the key people in this were not on that committee at all."
Longhorns band saxophone player Judson Hayden said many of his band peers are opposed to playing the song because the Black body is opposed. While an official statement from President Jay Hartzell said the students will have the option to sing the song, there were no directives given for the band or football players. Hayden said it is still up for discussion whether or not the song will be played in the fall.
The meeting was concluded with a message from Dixon, who said removing the song would be a huge step for the state of Texas.
"It's amazing that we're debating what's obvious... If the racist lyrics in this song were written in the reverse, they never would have made it to the light of day. They certainly would not be the mantra of an institution as grand as the University of Texas. What we're asking is not only common sense, but decency and consideration."
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