Dixie in Madison's Capitol

Susan Lampert Smith had an article in the Wisconsin State Journal about what happened when the Richland Center High School bank played for the Capitol on the 3'rd. They played a medley of Civil War songs that included "Dixie" at the inauguration.

State Sen. Spencer Coggs of Milwaukee released a letter to Senate Majority Leader Dale Schultz about the selection by Schultz's hometown band, saying he and his guests were offended by "Dixie."

"They were surprised," Meinen said, of his students, none of whom are black. "I printed off the lyrics to Dixie for them, and we had an excellent discussion during class about why some people might be offended."

The band didn't play "Dixie," the battle song of the Confederacy, on its own. It was part of "The Blue and the Gray," a medley of Civil War-era songs by Clare Grundman that is a standard part of the high school band repertoire.

...

At the same time, Meinen said he supports Coggs' right to protest the selection, and said it provided his students with the chance to learn.

"They learned to be careful what you say, and be careful what you play, because someone could be offended by it," he said. "In some ways, it might be good that it happened."

These issues are always tricky, especially if you're a member of the majority culture that doesn't share the same history, and sees the Civil War as something that happened long ago and far away.

The lesson is that the history of slavery doesn't seem so long ago to people who still experience the racism that the "Dixie" era represents.

Or perhaps the lesson is that Senator Coggs gets his panties in a knot very easily. May I propose an alternative moral from Rick Nelson's Garden Party?

But it's all right, now,
I've learned my lesson well,
See, you can't please ev'ryone,
So you got to please yourself.