UPDATE Holy crap, I never thought the comments would top 400. I can't talk to the teacher until 3:30 (CST) so I'm going to go think about something else for a while. I've done some research and some thinking and I will put that as well as what the teacher says in a new diary on Monday.
So, last night we were in Krispy Kreme munching on fresh-made donuts - the samples they give you - and my son Tyren, who just turned seven and is in first grade, went to wash his hands. He took a while (he likes looking in the mirror) so I went to check on him. "Almost done, buddy?" I asked. He turned and with his typically huge smile, he started to sing:
Oh my soul, gonna pick a bale of cotton
Oh my soul, gonna pick a bale a day
Oh my soul, gonna pick a bale of cotton
Oh my soul, gonna pick a bale a day
Jump down spin around pick a bale of cotton
Jump down spin around pick a bale a day
Jump down spin around pick a bale of cotton
Jump down spin around pick a bale a day
In case you're wondering why that song struck me as wrong, here's my son:
More, including why I need your help, after the flip.
What's more, the hand actions he did with the song mimic sticking his thumbs under his suspenders. Suddenly my beautiful prince was a little Sambo, a Happy Darky. I was too stunned to be heartbroken.
After scooping my jaw from the floor, I asked where he learned that song. "In music today," he said. "Huh. Well bud it's time to go," I said, resisting the temptation to launch into a lecture on the legacy of slavery.
When we were back in the car, I told my girlfriend Stephanie - who's Latina - "He learned Pick a Bale of Cotton in school today."
"WHAT!" she said. I felt validated. He started singing it again in the car. She asked him, "what did you learn about that song?" Perhaps the music teacher taught some context.
"Just the words," he said.
"Just so you know, Tyren," Stephanie said, "that song makes fun of black people."
He was not really hurt; not that he showed, anyway. "I should tell my teacher," he said.
"No," Stephanie sayid. (I was still too mad to talk.) "That's not your job. We'll take care of it."
Now, my question to you, my dear Kossack brethren, how do I take care of it?
I did a little reading this morning, and I found out that as recently as last November, a school district pulled the song from a concert after a black parent complained. I also found out the original lyrics include a number of variations .. "Me and my buddy gonna pick a bale of cotton," "Me and my wife gonna pick a bale of cotton," and my favorite, "The nigger from Shiloh can pick a bale a day." Just feel the wind go out of you? Yeah, me too.
But. I also found that great black folk singer Leadbelly recorded the song (here's a video clip) in the 1930s (without the n-word). (There's a larger clip here.) I've also read reasoned arguments that it's a good thing to preserve the legacy of slavery, that it's not making fun of anyone, that it's as important as the old spirituals in recognizing African American history, that it's not OK to sweep slavery under the rug.
But I can't help but feeling even if all that is true, the teacher has a responsibility to teach the context of the song, right?
The thing is, it's a nearly all-white school district. (It would be all-white if Tyren wasn't there.) The teacher probably doesn't even know the context.
Since I've started writing this, both kids have woken up and eaten the Krispy Kremes we bought last night. (Mmmmm ... donuts ...) I talked to Tyren about the song and about what cotton-picking means in his life, just to see if he gets it. "I'm making fun of myself" he says. He's wise for a seven-year-old. (Now, though, he's moved on to fighting Sith Lords with his plastic light-saber.)
My question is, what do I do? My first thought was to call the teacher, yell and scream, then call the principal and get the teacher fired. But that's not realistic, nor is it useful. That's just me being a pissed-off overprotective dad. Right now I feel like I should just call the teacher and find out whether or not she knows the origin of the song and maybe educate her a bit. What do you think?