Governor signs bill scrapping state song with racist history
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Apr. 15—JACKSON — Mississippi has ditched its official state song, which has racist ties.
Gov. Tate Reeves on Thursday signed a bill into law that would effectively replace Mississippi's state song with with Steve Azar's, "One Mississippi," and create a new commission to explore other songs to be included in the final list of songs.
The former song, "Go, Mississippi," takes its tune from a 1959 campaign jingle of Democratic Gov. Ross Barnett, according to the Associated Press. The campaign song, "Roll With Ross" included the lyrics, "For segregation, 100%. He's not a moderate, like some of the gents."
Barnett was an unabashed segregationist who unsuccessfully tried to block James Meredith from integrating the University of Mississippi in 1962. That same year, legislators adopted a state song setting new words to his campaign jingle: "Go, Mississippi, keep rolling along. Go, Mississippi, you cannot go wrong."
Rep. Becky Currie, the author of the bill, said it was time to change the state's song in favor of something with no ties to the former governor.
"Hopefully people embrace this song, and it is learned in schools and enjoyed all over the state," Currie, R-Brookhaven, said. "It is something else we can be proud of.".
Azar, the author of the new song, is a Mississippi native. He was commissioned by the state to write "One Mississippi" for the Magnolia State's 2017 bicentennial celebration.
The lyrics are a riff on the hide-and-seek counting game (One Mississippi ... two Mississippi) and incorporate common pictures associated with the state: magnolia trees, hot tamales, slugburgers and the natural beauty of the Natchez Trace parkway.
But Azar's song likely won't be the only one included in the Magnolia State's official list . The law also creates a committee to recommend to the Legislature different genres of songs to be included in the list such as country, rhythm and blues, rock and roll and gospel.
"Because we clearly are the birthplace of rock and roll, country music and the blues, we need several songs that reflect our rich musical history," Sen. Nicole Boyd, R-Oxford said. "I am very much looking forward to seeing what the new committee brings forward to the Legislature."
Surrounding states like Tennessee have multiple state songs.
Boyd has previously joked that Elvis Presley, the famous artist born in Tupelo, could have one of his songs included in the official list.
The committee will comprise legislators, the director of the tourism division in the Mississippi Development Authority, the director of the Mississippi Tourism Association and the director of the Two Mississippi Museums.
The new law calls for committee members to meet publicly on a date agreed on by the lieutenant governor and the speaker of the House. The committee must submit its recommendations to the Legislature by Dec. 31.
The decision to change the state song follows a series of recent efforts by state leaders to distance themselves from Confederate images associated with Mississippi's racist past.
Two years ago, the Legislature voted to retire the Mississippi state flag, the last in the nation to feature the Confederate battle emblem, and replace it with a new banner that incorporated a magnolia blossom.
But some state leaders, like Republican Gov. Tate Reeves, still observe and celebrate parts of Mississippi's history steeped in white supremacy. The governor recently issued a proclamation declaring the month of April as Confederate Heritage Month.
Reeves, at a bill signing ceremony, defended the proclamation by saying that governors before him — both Republicans and Democrats — issued similar proclamations.
"We did it again this year and didn't feel like this year was the year to stop doing it," Reeves said.
