Some influential alumni and major donors said they would stop supporting the university financially, particularly Longhorn athletics, if top leaders at the UT System’s flagship campus didn’t stand behind its alma mater song, "The Eyes of Texas," the Texas Tribune reported this week.
We'll start the article with the horrible part.
The song — which is sung to the tune of "I’ve Been Working on the Railroad" — was first played in a minstrel show with performers in blackface and connected to a saying from Confederate Army Commander Robert E. Lee.There you have it!
"Remember, the eyes of the South are upon you," Lee would tell students in Virginia.
That's pretty close to "The Eyes of Texas Are Upon You".
One donor who graduated in 1986 wrote to university President saying it was time for him to "put the foot down" and make clear "that the heritage of Texas will not be lost," according to the Tribune.
Dream on, sonny, it's gonna get CANCELLED!
"It is sad that it is offending the blacks," the donor wrote in the email. "As I said before the blacks are free and it’s time for them to move on to another state where everything is in their favor."
Perhaps not the most tasteful way to say it, but those words are not in the song.
Such emails were shocking to many students and alumni, some of whom weren’t aware of the song’s origin until this year. But others said the language used by some donors didn’t surprise them.
Deplorable racists!
"There's long been the ‘Shut up and dribble' argument," said a UT track athlete from Dallas. "So it's very similar to that, in which these donors aren't quite as aware of the difficulties that a lot of people of color on our campus are facing."
I imagine your list of grievances is lengthy.
The executive director of the alumni association Texas Exes, says
Which is outlined above - performed many years ago in blackface, with a possible hat tip to Robert E. Lee.