AUSTIN (KXAN) – Ahead of the Jan 1. Sugar Bowl, where the Texas Longhorns will face off against the Washington Huskies, some Black leaders have once again called upon the University of Texas to stop playing “The Eyes of Texas,” which they say is racially offensive.
The Texas NAACP and the Texas Legislative Black Caucus sent a press advisory Thursday saying, “This song should not be given a national audience.”
“On January 1, 2024, much of the nation will be focused on [UT] and the two games that will take place that day. There will be many in attendance from schools and affiliations who are not with the University of Texas, and many persons watching television who will be supporting other college teams,” the press advisory read.
“[The University] should not play or utilize this racist song in any way at the game or as part of any official festivities regarding the College Football Playoffs. That is only right, given how many African American athletes, students and their parents will be in attendance or watching on television,” it continued.
The joint statement sent Tuesday from two organizations follows a federal civil rights complaint filed in 2021 , which alleged UT Austin is creating a “hostile environment” for Black students by playing the song. The Texas chapter of the NCAAP said that the federal complaint was still being investigated.
Historians believe the UT Austin Alma Matter was debuted at a minstrel show – a type of theater performance where white men would wear Black face to mock Black people.
“I’m a two-time alum of the University of Texas [and] I’ve always been a big supporter of the university and want to see it do well,” Gary Bledsoe, President Texas State Conference of NAACP. “If the university wants to do what it always said, wanted to do to be known as a first-class academic institution respected around the world, you cannot have a racist fight song,” he continued.
UT Austin released a report in 2021 from a 24-member committee made up of students, employees, and alumni, charged by the UT president to research the history of the song and its use, which concluded the “intent of ‘The Eyes of Texas’ was not overtly racist.”
However, the committee did acknowledge that the cultural setting where the song was debuted was racist.
“You can’t celebrate diversity and culture and then continue to have the students stand for the song. So we were standing with the students – we’re standing on the right side of history,” said Texas Rep. Ron Reynolds, D-Missouri City, and Chairman of the Texas Legislative Black Caucus.
“If there were an anti-Semitic song, they wouldn’t allow it to be played,” Reynolds added. “I hope that we can appeal to a broader sense of racial consciousness and solidarity, that people that care about democracy, that people care about inclusive inclusivity, that they will be on the right side of history and band together with a moral sense of obligation,” he continued.
“We don’t want to have a stain on our university at the height of one of the biggest games in the school’s history,” Reynolds said.
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