Scott Colom Wins Mississippi's United States Senate Race 2026 (news report & comments)

 
Dem. Scott Colom to become Mississippi senator after Rep. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith concedes

Queen City News, Nov 11, 2026 [Charlotte, North Carolina

Democrat Scott Colom is set to become Mississippi’s next senator after Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi conceded Wednesday, notching a major victory for his party in the ruby red state.
-snip-
Here's the beginning statement in that video [from its automatic transcript that is written in all capitol letters:
"WE ARE FOLLOWING BREAKING NEWS OUT OF MISSISSIPPI WHERE THAT STATE HAS ELECTED ITS FIRST BLACK SENATOR SINCE THE DAYS OF RECONSTRUCTION"… 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bz0tGCxRKME

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Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest update - November 12, 2026

This pancocojams post showcases a video report that  African American Scott Colom (Democrat) has just won the United States Senate election in the state of Mississippi.

This post presents all of the comments from that video (as of the date and time of the publication of that this post).  This post also presents selected comments from the chat feature for Roland S. Martin Unfiltered podcast and from Marc Elias' Democracy Docket's video about Scott Colom winning that election are also included in this pancocojams post.

The content of this post is presented for historical, political, and socio-cultural purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Senator Scott Colom for his winning this election. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the hosts and publishers of these YouTube podcasts.
-snip-
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2026/11/mississippi-senate-candidate-scott.html for the  closely related pancocojams post "Mississippi Senate Candidate Scott Colom's 2026 "Pick Another Protein?!" Campaign Ad Helped Flip Mississippi Blue".

Also, click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2026/11/comments-from-maighstir-tarot-youtube.html for the closely related pancocojams post entitled "Will Mississippi's Democratic Candidate Scott Colom (A Black Man) Win The 2026 Election For United State Senator? (Comments From YouTube's Maighstir Tarot Discussion Thread)".

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THE NAMES OF THE BLACK MEN WHO WERE UNITED STATES SENATORS FROM MISSISSIPPI BEFORE SCOTT COLOM

From AI Overview

Hiram Revels (served 1870–1871), the first Black man to serve in the U.S. Senate.
Blanche K. Bruce (served 1875–1881), the first Black man to serve a full term in the U.S. Senate.
Scott Colom (elected in November 2026), who defeated incumbent Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith to become Mississippi's third Black U.S. Senator and the first since Reconstruction.

Source:  https://www.nytimes.com/2026/11/11/us/elections/scott-colom-mississippi-black-senators.html

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I. COMMENTS FROM THE DISCUSSION THREAD OF THE VIDEO THAT IS EMBEDDED IN THIS PANCOCOJAMS POST

These are all of the comments that were found in that discussion thread as of the publication
date and time of this pancocojams post.

All of these comments are from November 11, 2026. Numbers are added for referencing purposes only. 

1.@bihsaidwhatnow2392
"My granny said, "Fannie Lou Hamer + Medgar Evers + John Lewis = Scott Colum!!!!!💥💙💥"  "Congratulations Senator Colum!"

**
2. @skip2it426
"This is KARMA at its finest. Had she not blocked him from becoming a judge she would probably still be a Senator. She gets what she deserves!"

**
3. @Moogly-u1e
"Guess she will be picking a different form of protein come January."

**
4. @jimlewis2395
"Raising prices through the roof, after promising to do the opposite hurts your party.  Who could have ever guessed such a thing???   smh"

**
5. @StdOut97
"Cindy Hyde-Smith did this to herself.

Thank you, Cindy.  Your failure is our celebration."

****
II.  SELECTED COMMENTS
From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiHcyZrkqNk "Scott Colom Wins Mississippi Senate Race; Angie Nixon Speaks, Ole Miss Students Break Silence" published by Roland S. Martin, Nov 11, 2026

All of these comments are from the chat feature for this November 11, 2026 podcast.
Numbers are added for referencing purposes only.

1. @QuincyAlexander-f3r
"​​Congratulations to United States Senator-elect Scott Colom (D-MS)."

**
2. @lsgop
"​​A breath of fresh air for Mississippi"

**
3. @seanfl33
"​​I think the chickens have come home to roost for Cindy Hyde-Smith. She blocked Colom from a judgeship that Joe Biden nominated him for, didn't she?"

**
4. @bigboi0000
"​​Cindy blocked him from a Federal Judge appointment...he turned around and TOOK HER JOB! LUV IT MANE!"

**
5. @QuincyAlexander-f3r
"​​@MrBlockice22 Colom got the last laugh. Remember, Hyde-Smith blocked his judicial appointment."

**
6. @welcome1971
"​​I love how she was the architect of her own downfall."

**
7. @BDaMan-et2qh
"​​FAFO FAFO"

**
8. @loriparks8657
"​​SCOTT COLOM CAMPAIGN ADS WERE BRILLIANT 👏🏿 the first one then he brought out the second one that was off from the movie SINNERS !! that one was off the hook"

**
9. @MrBlockice22
"​​The PROTEIN!!"

**
10. @pearlavisepersonalfinance
"​​Love the PROTEIN one! I agree Roland! This one is emotional powerful. It spoke to the ❤"

**
11. @AlisaWhite-n2j
"​​pick another protein, SHHIIIII I rather pick another senator"

**
12. @loriparks8657
"​​THIS ELECTION TURNOUTS THAT HAPPENED LAST WEEK NEEDS TO MATCH AND MORE IN 2028 ."

**
13. @Leon-yg5gm
"​​I'm a white man who voted for Colom. IDC, I'm just proud to have Colom representing us."

**
14. @Giselle6969
"​​I'm hoping now we see more support now in the south but let's do more again in FL"

**
15. @deidrehall1
"​​Tennessee Arkansas Louisiana and South Carolina need some organization"

**
16. @russellp.everage244
"​​Louisiana you can do the same thing you just seen done in Texas and in Georgia

**
17. @C.H.-cq9zm
"​​Come on Mississippi💙"

**
18. @rossgoldberg5201
​​“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”— Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

**
19. @tracysmith1353
"​​CONGRATULATIONS Senator Scott Colum!!❤🙏🏽✊🏽💪🏽💯

**
20. @sustainablefarming920
"​​I hope Sen. Colom can do something about the Nolan Wells case."

**
21.  @Leon-yg5gm
"Colom said he's two most important issues are raising the minimum wage, MS still has the $7 federal minimum wage, and reversing the health care cuts. MS is losing hospitals like crazy."

**
22. @AlisaWhite-n2j
"​​say it loud I'm black and I'm proud"

**
23. @FranklinKoonce-c5w
"​​TIME FOR EARLY VOTING IN MISSISSIPPI"

 **
24. @emilyblackwell1592
"Hallelujah!!!!!! Hallelujah!!!! Hallelujah!!!!!"

**
25. @Giselle6969
"His win brings tears to my eye. one of the most racist state' and they have a Black man as the new senator"

**
26. @rossgoldberg5201
"​​MLK, Malcolm X, and all of the African-American civil rights from the 1900s and all of abolitionist movement leaders including Frederick Douglas would be so proud if they were still alive"

**
27. @Leon-yg5gm
"​​Colom was all over the state talking to people"

**
Reply
28. @bonitamcneill3256
"​​He sure did! Amazing campaign!"

**
29. @tyneced
"​This commercial was brilliant"

**
30. @kinlochktown
"​Stellar"💯‼‼‼...Great campaign ad/parody 🤣😂🤣😂"

**
31. @otisharris7380
"​​I live in Washington State, but I'm a native of Columbus, Mississippi. Congratulations to our first Black Senator of Mississippi.

💙🙏"

**
32. @katarinas5979
"​​Congratulations 🎊 Senator Colom MS"

**
33. @thestimulus
"​​🔥 thanks for continuing to amplify for the people in the back and stuck on clown 🤡 and goofy... that in so many races in the south ie Nixon and Colom ....The People did that not Washington."

**
34. @IronRonn05
"​​I’m in Poughkeepsie New York. But I’m from liberty Mississippi in Amite county. And yes he’s my senator I’m also Proud of his successful run!!"

**
35. @seanfl33
"​​Scott Colom's win proves that no state should ever be written off."

**
36. @kinlochktown
"​​inexplicable statement...."pick another protein".....🤔 .....BYE Mee-Maw👋🏾"

**
37. @MrBlockice22
"​​Sure did got the last laugh @quincy.... LOL The best Ad this election"

**
38. @samuelcampbell1088
"​​🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🌊🌊🌊🌊"

**
39. @consciousthought9293
"​​All Of The Momentum From The November 3rd Election Makes Me So Proud That I Voted🗳...It Makes Me Realize That Participation (Voting) Is Power, And That I Am A (Small) Part Of That Power Surge✊🏾⚡🤜🏾"

**
40. @misshawkins1702
"​​The South Got Something To Say!!!!💙💙💙💙Congratulations Senator!👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾"

**
41. @jeremymoore145
"​​Crazy it’s been over 100 years. This is first in our lifetime."

**
42. @FranklinKoonce-c5w
"​​I'M SO HAPPY FOR MISSISSIPPI"

**
43. @loriparks8657
"​Last week, all over social media posting black female voters who voted in 1960 was talking about this poll tax they had to pay in order for them to vote. Now, you see why it is so important to vote !"

**
44. @darlingnikki7597
"​​Congrats Mississippi!! 🙏🏽💕💪🏽"

**
45. @reesyalston2600
"​​yes!! Mississippi woke? I love to hear that!"

**
46. @denicebrown-i3c
"​​Thank you Mississippi"

**
47. @joyce1016
"​​THANK YOU ALL FOR ORGANIZING MISSISSIPPI. THEY DID IT!!!"

**
48. @Gemini-ns9uw
"​​Because if they invest really heavy in the South it's game over, probably for generations"

**
49. @thestimulus
"​​Voters showing up showing out by voting is addressing Republicans & Conservatives voter suppression and redistricting foolishness, keep up the good work! ✊🏾👊🏾 Voters did that! ✊🏾👊🏾"

**
50. @rizzb9330
"We will not be denied."

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III. SELECTED COMMENTS
From  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acfIIDCjOOI "BREAKING: Scott Colom VICTORY in Mississippi as Trump Goes Into MAGA Meltdown" published by Democracy Docket, Nov. 11, 2026

"Democrats just flipped a Senate seat in Mississippi. Scott Colom defeated Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith in a race that came down to every ballot. Republicans fought to block many of those ballots, from the RNC’s Supreme Court challenge to late-arriving mail ballots to a purge that pushed thousands of voters into affidavit ballots. Marc Elias breaks down how Colom won and what Hyde-Smith can still try."... -snip-
Note: Attorney Marc Elias' Democracy Docket is a podcast for the law firm that represents most of the legal challenges or potential legal challenges to elections in the USA, including Mississippi Senator Scott Colom's election.

 All of these comments are from the chat feature for this November 11, 2026 podcast.

Numbers are added for referencing purposes only.

1. @TheLKBng86
"Great job Senator Colom now , now go and take care of business , as we are counting on you sir"

**
2. @FH-pl7lo
"​​Who would have ever thought it would happen? Victory. Congratulations Senator-elect Colum. God speed."

**
3. @sylviavalentine3944
"I am so proud of you Marc, I graduate from Ole Miss. I moonlighted as a law clerk in Tupelo and I am well acquainted with the civil rights problems in Mississippi. It is a complicated problem"

**
4. @JohnWillardLimaJarvis
"Every single victory is worth celebrating"

**
5. @hunting69doehle62
"​​not tired yet of all the winning, in the courts and in the elections"

**
6. @Javalooney
"​​THANK-YOU MISSISSIPPI. YOU GOT THIS 🇺🇸. From 🇨🇦 [Canadian flag]

**
7. @yaqubali2947
"​​First Black Senator from Mississippi since Civil War and Reconstruction"

**
8. @KayPhelan
"​​YOU'VE WON MISSISSIPPI!"

**
9. @mauveletteburchell606
"​​Our Ancestors are jumping for joy now 🙏🏼"

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Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

Two Examples Of The African American Children's Singing Game "Johnny Cuckoo" (Sung By Bessie Jones & By Joan Baez) complete 2026 reprint

ichagall, Published on Apr 20, 2010

Little Sally Walker Bessie Jones
-snip-
The "Johnny Cuckoo" singing game begins at 3:28 in this video.

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Edited by Azizi Powell

This is a complete reprint of a 2019 pancocojams post that remains in this blog. That post is entitled "Two Examples Of The African American Children's Singing Game "Johnny Cuckoo" (Sung By Bessie Jones & By Joan Baez)." 

Note that the video that is embedded at the top of this post was included within that 2019 post. 

This 2026 post includes the two comments that I wrote and published in that 2019 post. These are the only two comments that are in that post's comment section as of the publishing date for this 2026 post.

That 2019 post remains in this blog. Visitor comments are welcome for that post and for this 2026 post.

 That 2019 post begins here:

This is Part III of an ongoing pancocojams series on African American versions of the English children's singing game "Two Dukes A-Riding".

Part III presents my thoughts about the meanings of the words "Johnny Cuckoo" in the African American singing game with that name. Part III also showcases a text (word only) example and a YouTube video of the singing game "Johnny Cuckoo" as sung by Bessie Jones and children from St. Simon's Island, Georgia along with a YouTube sound file and lyrics for a version of "Johnny Cuckoo" as sung by Joan Baez.

The Addendum to Part III presents an article excerpt about Black men in the United States Civil War's Union army and Black men in the Confederate army.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2019/08/african-american-versions-of-english.html for Part I of this pancocojams series. Part I presents excerpts from two Mudcat folk music discussion threads: "Help: johnny cockaroo" [comments from 2008, 2009] and "Lyr Req: Playground songs" [one singing game example which I collected in 1992 and posted on that forum in 2007].

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2019/08/five-examples-of-two-dukes-riding.html for Part II presents text (word only) examples of and sound files for a few versions of the children's singing game "Two Dukes A-Riding" (or other titles for versions of that singing game.)

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2019/08/an-example-of-singing-game-johnny.html for Part IV of this series. Part IV presents an excerpt from the record notes for the album Been In The Storm Too Long and lyrics for a South Carolina version of the "Johnny Cuckoo" singing game that was sung by Janie Hunter. A link to a sound file for that version of "Johnny Cuckoo" is also included in that post.

Part IV also includes information about the Gullah culture that is documented as the original site of examples of the singing game "Johnny Cuckoo". (The example given in Part III is a more widely known example of "Johnny Cuckoo" and also comes from the Gullah culture.)

The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, recreational, and entertainment purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Bessie Jones, Joan Baez, and all those who are featured in these embedded YouTube video and sound file. Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publisher of these examples on YouTube.

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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTE - WHAT I THINK THE THE WORDS "JOHNNY CUCKOO" MEAN IN THE SINGING GAME WITH THAT NAME
I believe that the African American children's singing game "Johnny Cuckoo" is an adaptation of the United Kingdom children's singing game "Two Dukes A-Riding". The words for certain verses (such as "you look to black and dirty"/"I'm just as good as you are"), and the two horizontal line formations indicate the connections between these two singing games. One difference between these two singing games is that "Dukes A-Riding" is a "courting" game (the Dukes are seeking a woman to marry) while "Johnny Cuckoo" is an "army enlistment" game (the Johnny Cuckoos want to be accepted as soldiers in an [un-named] army).

My assumption is that this singing game was probably created in the Southern region of the United States by Black people shortly after the end of the Civil War.

My position is that the name "Johnny" in the referent "Johnny Cuckoo" probably was partly lifted from "Johnny Reb", a common nickname for Rebel soldiers and partly lifted from the name of the herbal mojo root that Black folks called "John the Conqueror" and the folk hero who was named after that root.

The word "cuckoo" means "crazy". I wonder if the word "cuckoo" was purposely chosen to convey one or both of these hidden in plain sight messages:
1. that some Black people and many non-Black people in those days might consider a Black person who wanted to be a soldier in the (Rebel?) army as being crazy.

2. that some Black people and many non-Black people then (and even now) may consider Black people to be crazy if they/we had/have strong positive self-esteem.

Be that as it may, I think it's most likely that the word "cuckoo" developed by folk processing from the mojo root and folk character "John The Conqueror". Here's some information about "John The Conqueror" from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_the_Conqueror
"John the Conqueror, also known as High John de Conqueror, John, Jack, and many other folk variants, is a folk hero from African-American folklore. He is associated with a certain root, the John the Conqueror root, or John the Conqueroo, to which magical powers are ascribed in American folklore, especially among the hoodoo tradition of folk magic. Muddy Waters mentions him as Johnny Cocheroo pronounced Johnny Conqueroo in the songs, "Mannish Boy" and "I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man". In "Mannish Boy" the line is "I think I'll go down/To old Kansas too/I'm gonna bring back my second cousin/That little Johnny Conqueroo", and in "I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man" it is called "John De Conquer Blue".

Folk hero
Sometimes, "John" is an African prince who was sold as a slave in the Americas. Despite his enslavement, his spirit was never broken. He survived in folklore as reluctant folk hero, a sort of trickster figure, because of the tricks he played to evade those who played tricks on him. Joel Chandler Harris's Br'er Rabbit of the Uncle Remus stories is a similar archetype to that of High John the Conqueror, out doing those who would do him in. Zora Neale Hurston wrote of his adventures ("High John de Conquer") in her collection of folklore, The Sanctified Church."...
-end of quote-
I don't think that Black children who played Johnny Cuckoo" were echoing their fathers' or uncles' or older brothers' desires to be part of the Confederate army*. My position is that whoever created this "Dukes A-Riding" adaptation did so for two reasons:
1. to provide opportunities for creative dramatic play :with accompanying hand clapping and dance

2. to help Black children develop and reinforce positive self-esteem and coping mechanism when they encountered people who believed that they weren't as good as "other" people.

Contrast my interpretation of the "you look all black and dirty" and "I'm just as good as you are" with my interpretation of those same words in "Two Dukes A Riding" songs (given in the comment section below).
-snip-

*Read a brief excerpt from an online article about Black Confederates in the Addendum below.

 ****

LYRICS: JOHNNY CUCKOO
(as sung by Bessie Jones)

1st verse:
Here comes one Johnny Cuckoo
Cuckoo; Cuckoo
Here comes one Johnny Cuckoo
On a cold and stormy night

2nd verse:
What did you come for
Come for
Come (here) for
What did you come for
On a cold and stormy night

3rd verse:
I come for me (We come for us)
A soldier, soldier,
I come for me (We come for us)
A soldier
On a cold and stormy night

You look too black and dirty
Dirty dirty
You look too black and dirty
On a cold and stormy night

5th verse sung by Johnny Cuckoo/s
I'm (We're) just as good* as you are
You are. You are.
I'm (We're) just as good as you are
On a cold and stormy night

* sometimes given as "just as clean as you are"
-snip-
The song immediately repeats from the beginning with the first Johnny Cuckoo picking another player to act the role of the second Johnny Cuckoo along with her. The group sings "Here comes two Johnny Cuckoos etc

This continues with multiple Johnny Cuckoos until the game ends.

Source: Bessie Jones, Bess Hawes Lomax: Step It Down: Games, Plays, Songs & Stories from the Afro-American Heritage.

The singing game "Johnny Cuckoo" is also included as as #10 on the 3rd CD of A Musical Journey From The Georgia Sea Islands To The Mississippi Delta, edited by Alan Lomax; 1993 Atlantic Recording

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PERFORMANCE INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE SINGING GAME "JOHNNY CUCKOO"*
One person in the group (male or female) plays the role of “Johnny Cuckoo”. The rest of the group stands in a horizontal line some distance from the girl but facing her. The group perform individual hand claps [clap their own hands) to the beat while singing this song.

“Johnny Cuckoo” starts strutting/marching toward this line when the group sings the first and second line verses. Sometimes the Johnny Cuckoo appears to stand in the same spot but moving like she is strutting (or marching) back and forth.

Everyone sings the entire song although technically the third (and 5th verse) is supposed to be Johnny Cuckoo singing alone.

All of the players in the line turn their backs on the "Johnny Cuckoo/s and switch their hips to the rhythm.

There is a significant increase in the speed of the singing in the 4th first as the group sing and perform a double offbeat clap.

The line turns around again and keeping the same tempo the Johnny Cuckoo turns away from the group and does the same hip swinging dance while clapping his or her hands.

Johnny Cuckoo begins strutting/ marching until he or she reaches the line and arbitrarily picks someone to be the second Johnny Cuckoo with her.

The song immediately repeats from the beginning with the group singing "Here comes two Johnny Cuckoos etc

This continues with multiple Johnny Cuckoos until everyone is a Johnny Cuckoo.
-snip-
*This is my description of the performance of this singing game, although these directions borrow heavily from the instructions that are given in the Bessie Jones & Bess Hawes Lomax book Step It Down.

****
SHOWCASE SOUND FILE - Joan Baez Johnny Cuckoo



bbaaeezz, Published on Feb 27, 2011

Joan Baez - Johnny Cuckoo

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LYRICS - JOHNNY CUCKOO
(as sung by Joan Baez)

"Here comes one Johnny cuckoo
Cuckoo,cuckoo
Here comes one Johnny Cuckoo
On a cold and stormy night

What did you come for
Come for,come for?
What did you come for
On a cold and stormy night?

I come to be a soldier
Soldier,soldier
I come to be a soldier
On a cold and stormy night

You are too black and dirty
Dirty,dirty
You are too black and dirty
On a cold and stormy night

I'm just as good as you are
You are,you are
I'm just as good as you are
On a cold and stormy night"


Source: https://genius.com/Joan-baez-johnny-cuckoo-lyrics.

****
ADDENDUM
From https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/black-confederates Black Confederates: Truth and Legend By Sam Smith
..."Many Southern slaves took advantage of the fog of war to escape towards freedom. Before the Emancipation Proclamation was officially adopted, these escapes usually meant congregating around the Union armies that were operating in Southern territory. Vast columns of escaped slaves followed almost every major Union army at one point or another. These people, sometimes called “contrabands,” as in “confiscated enemy property,” frequently served as scouts and spies for the Union soldiers.

When the Emancipation Proclamation took effect on January 1, 1863, Union forces had regained control of large swaths of the South. Although many now claim that the Proclamation was effectively useless because it established policy for a foreign nation, the practical reality is that the Union, by force of arms, had every necessary power to establish policy in its occupied territories, just as Confederate armies exercised their power to capture and enslave free black people during their brief occupations of Northern territories.

After the Proclamation, the refugees in the contraband camps, along with free black people throughout the North, began to enlist in the Union Army in even greater proportion than Northern white men. After some time in legal limbo, many Southern black men took up arms against their former masters and distinguished themselves on campaign and on the battlefield. By the time the war was over, black soldiers made up 10% of the Union Army and had suffered more than 10,000 combat casualties.

Some black Southerners aided the Confederacy. Most of these were forced to accompany their masters or were forced to toil behind the lines. Black men were not legally allowed to serve as combat soldiers in the Confederate Army--they were cooks, teamsters, and manual laborers. There were no black Confederate combat units in service during the war and no documentation whatsoever exists for any black man being paid or pensioned as a Confederate soldier, although some did receive pensions for their work as laborers. Nevertheless, the black servants and the Confederate soldiers formed bonds in the shared crucible of conflict, and many servants later attended regimental reunions with their wartime comrades.

This is not to say that no black man ever fired a gun for the Confederacy. To be specific, in the “Official Records of the War of the Rebellion,” a collection of military records from both sides which spans more than 50 volumes and more than 50,000 pages, there are a total of seven Union eyewitness reports of black Confederates. Three of these reports mention black men shooting at Union soldiers, one report mentions capturing a handful of armed black men along with some soldiers, and the other three reports mention seeing unarmed black laborers. There is no record of Union soldiers encountering an all-black line of battle or anything close to it."...

****
COMMENTS FROM THE 2019 POST'S COMMENT SECTION
 Azizi PowellAugust 5, 2019 at 7:05 PM

Here are two comments that I wrote and shared in Part II of this pancocojams series about the meaning of the "you look too black and dirty" verse and its response "I'm just as good as you are" verse in examples of "Two Dukes A- Riding" singing games:

Azizi Powell August 3, 2019 at 12:06 PM

I believe that the word "black" in the lyrics "black and dirty" or "black and browsy" in "Duke A-Riding" children's singing games refers to a White person who has dark hair and/or dark eyes and/or a skin complexion that is tanner than that of blue eyed, blond hair "fair complexioned" White people.

That said, those lines in these "Duke A-Riding" songs can easily be misinterpreted as referring to people with black or brown skin.

I don't think that the "Duke A-Riding" singing game is performed that often anymore (at least not in the USA) either as part of children's independent play or taught to children as part of a school's music classes.

However, if children are taught this song in schools, even if an adult shares that the word "black" in these songs doesn't mean "Black race", I'm very concerned about the underlying message and the possible consequences of these lyrics for anyone who sings them regardless of their skin color.

I have these concerns even when the people in the next verse sing "We're just as good as you are"- since one group of people who are described as "black and dirty" or "black and browsy" have to assert that they are "just as good as you" but the other group of people with fairer skin who taunt them never have to question their inherent "goodness".

Azizi Powell August 4, 2019 at 1:16 PM
Perhaps it's easier to see how problematic the "you are too black and dirty"/ and "we just as good as you are" verses in "Two Dukes A-Riding" children's singing game are if we "flip the script" to these verses:

[sung by one group] "You are two white and sickly"
and
[sung by another group] "We're just as good as you are".

Do you see what I mean about the underlying message and the possible consequences of these lyrics?

ReplyDelete

Replies

1. 
   Azizi PowellAugust 5, 2019 at 7:18 PM

   In contrast, in the African American singing game "Johnny Cuckoo" the word "black" refers to the skin color of the person being addressed and most (or all) of the children singing this verse in the embedded YouTube video are also Black- although it's possible that children who played this singing game* may have been pretending to be White people when they said those words.
   
   As is the case with the verse in the "Duke A- Riding" singing game "black and dirty" is meant to be an insult. The children's response "I'm just as good as you are" is an affirmation that should be understood in the context of those times.
   
   *I don't know if "Johnny Cuckoo" or "Two Dukes A-Riding" are still being played by children. I doubt it and I think its for the best that these games aren't played. Yet, I strongly believe that these games can help us better understand race in the United States then and now.

   Delete

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This concludes Part III of this four part pancocojams series.

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"Good Ole Egg Bread" - A 1917 Black Children's Singing Game That Includes Lyrics About Going To A Lynching

Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest revision- November 11, 2026

This pancocojams post presents the words to "Good Ole Egg Bread", a Black American children's ring game (circle game) from the state of Georgia. This ring game is included in the 1917 book "Ring Games From Georgia", author Loraine Darby.

The children's ring game "Good Ole Egg Bread"  was collected in 1917 by Loraine Darby from Georgia's Gullah Geechee people. Gullah Geechee people are a particular population of Black Americans.

Click https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gullah for information about Gullah Geechee culture.

The content of this post is presented for folkloric, historical, and socio-cultural purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to the unknown composer/s of this ring game and thanks to the Black children from Georgia who performed it. Thanks also to Loraine Darby for collecting this and other ring games and thanks to first publisher of that book as well as American Folklore Society for publishing excerpts of that book online.
-snip-
*"Egg bread" is another referent for "French Toast".

"Good Ole Egg Bread" has the same word pattern as the much more familiar Black American children's song "Did You Feed My Cow?". Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaiCb3kL2Fk for a YouTube song file of Ella Jenkins singing "Did You Feed My Cow". I don't know if the tune for "Good Ole Egg Bread" is the same as the tune for "Did You Feed My Cow?". 

This pancocojams post is part of an ongoing series about early 20th century Black children's singing games.  Click the "Ring Games From Georgia" tag below for more pancocojams posts in this series.

Notice: I had forgotten that I had previously published a post about this singing game in 2023. Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2023/04/the-early-20th-century-african-american.html for that post. That 2023 post includes additional information and comments about this song including my comments about one of the underlying purposes of the lynching verse, and information about White recordings of this song that include additional verses but don't include  any references to lynchings. That post doesn't include any comments in its discussion section as of November 11, 2026.

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DESCRIPTION OF AND LYRICS FOR THE RING GAME "GOOD OLE EGG BREAD"
From https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/534340.pdf?refreqid=excelsior%3A13239d3004a560ee6cd2078fffa8650b&ab_segments=&origin=

Ring-Games from Georgia

Author(s): Loraine Darby

Source: The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 30, No. 116 (Apr. - Jun., 1917), pp. 218-221

Published by: American Folklore Society

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/534340

Accessed: 03-04-2023 11:54 UTC

"[page] 218 Journal of American Folk-Lore.

 RING-GAMES FROM GEORGIA.

 BY LORAINE DARBY.

 I SAW in southern Georgia a number of ring-game are peculiar to the colored children of that region. 

[...]

A game which is most amusing to watch is "Good O The leader shouts one line, and the others answer with the next.

 The rhythm is very strong, and they stamp their feet most energetically as they circle.

 Did you go to the hen-house?

 Yes, ma'am!

 Did you get any eggs?

 Yes, ma'am!

 Did you put 'em in the bread?

 Yes, ma'am!

 Did you stir it 'roun'?

 Yes, ma'am!

 Did you bake it brown?

 Yes, ma'am!

 Did you hand it 'roun'?

 Yes, ma'am!

[page] 219

Good old egg-bread,

 Shake 'em, shake 'em!

 Good old egg-bread,

 Shake 'em, shake 'em!

 

 Did you go to the lynchin'?

 Yes, ma'am!

 Did they lynch that man?

 Yes, ma'am!

 Did the man cry?

 Yes, ma'am!

 How did he cry?

 Baa, baa!

 How did he cry?

 Baa, baa!

 

Did you go to the wedding?

Yes, ma'am!

 Did you get any wine?

 Yes, ma'am!

 Did you get any cake?

 Yes, ma'am!

 How did it taste?

 So good!

 How did it taste?

 So good!

 Good old egg-bread,

 Shake 'em, shake 'em!

 Good old egg-bread,

 Shake 'em, shake 'em!

Bow, Mr. Blackbird, bow, Mr. Crow.

Bow, Mr. Blackbird, bow no mo'!"

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What "Drag You" REALLY Means (with a video of & lyrics for @reesewaters YouTube channel's song "They About To Drag You"

Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post presents a definition of and explanation for the African American Vernacular English term "to drag someone".

This post also showcase a YouTube video of the song "They About To Drag You". That song was composed by the @reesewaters YouTube channel and is often featured on that channel. The lyrics for this song are also included in this post.

This pancocojams post also presents information about the @reesewaters channel.

The content of this post is presented for linguistic and socio-cultural purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to the unknown persons who created this African American Vernacular English (AAVE) meaning for the verb "dragging"[ someone]. Thanks to the @reesewaters channel for creating this short song and thanks to @Mr Natural Music Project for reposting that song on YouTube along with his guitar playing. Thanks also who are quoted in this post.

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WHAT "TO DRAG SOMEONE" MEANS (IN AFRICAN AMERICAN VERNACULAR ENGLISH)
AI Overview [retrieved November 10, 2026]
"To drag someone means to publicly, harshly, or relentlessly criticize, roast, or call someone out, exposing their flaws or mocking them.

Key Context & Nuances  

• Verbal Beatdown: It implies tearing someone apart with words—making them look foolish or defeated in an argument, a social media thread, or a conversation.

• Roots in Ball Culture and AAVE: While widely used in internet and mainstream slang today, terms related to "reading" and sharp verbal critique trace back deeply to African American communities, Black women, and the historic ballroom and drag-queen scenes (where intersectional subcultures shared and popularized terms like reading, shading, and dragging).

• Playful vs. Serious: It can range from sharp, witty banter among close friends ("Oh, you dragged him!") to a severe, public online pile-on where multiple people mock someone's behavior, outfit, or statement."
-snip-
"Ball culture" - (also known as the ballroom scene or house-ballroom community) is an underground African-American and Latinx LGBTQ+ subculture that combines competitive performance, high fashion, dance, and a chosen-family support system"...-AI Overview 

AAVE - African American Vernacular English
-snip-
The AAVE meaning of "dragging" someone probably comes from the saying "dragging someone through the mud". 

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/drag-name-through-the-mire-mud
"Meaning of drag someone's name through the mire/mud in English

drag someone's name through the mire/mud

idiom

to damage someone's reputation by saying extremely insulting things about them"

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SHOWCASE VIDEO- They About to Drag You (lyric video with added guitar)

Mr Natural Music Project, Premiered Jun 3, 2026

This is the full song created by the @reesewaters channel, as a lyric video, with my own guitar added for fun. 

I love watching Reese Waters and catch a lot of his videos. He has a song he's been including lately and it's started to go viral.

People have been asking him to post the full song, and yesterday he finally did.

I thought it was great, but felt like it needed something extra, so I created this simple lyric video for it and added some (real, not AI) guitar.

If you are into different sorts of guitar, the sound/style inspiration is Albert Collins. The over-playing is all on me though. "Say you did too much"

Don't drag me in the comments. 🤣"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j13HhktYNfI

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LYRICS FOR THE SONG "THEY ABOUT TO DRAG YOU" *
They're about to drag you.

They're about to drag you. [music] In these comments. In these comments.

In these comments. Oh, they about to drag [music] you.

They about to drag you. In these comments.

In these comments. In these comments. In these comments.

Screenshot save on fire. You type too quick. Now they all inspired.

Refresh. Reload. Naming every line. You hit send once.

Now you're trending right. [screaming] They about to drag you.

[music]

They about to drag you back in these comments. [music] In these comments,

They about to play you.

They about to drag you

[music]

in these comments. In these comments.

In these comments. [music] In these comments.

A laugh-react flood. Every clap on beat

One wrong word

Now they quote your tweets.

Say you did [music] too much.

Say you're not that guy.

You can lie on but receipts don't die.

They about to [music] drag you in these times. in the [music] comments.

They [music] about to drag you.

They about to [music] drag you in these comments. [music] "
-snip-
*These lyrics are from the automatic transcript of this audio video given without time stamps.

I added a few [what I believe are] corrections to that transcript such as changing the word  "comings" that was given in that transcript to the word "comments". I also changed the word "long" in that transcript to the word "lie" and the word "blood" in that transcript to "flood". 

Additions and corrections are welcome.

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE @reesewaters channel

From https://www.youtube.com/@reesewaters
"Description
"Award winning anchor & comedian Reese Waters finds levity & insight in the darkest of places...like politics.

Reese Waters forged an illustrious career in comedy, sports and broadcasting. New York Magazine tapped Reese Waters as one of the city’s Ten Comedians To Watch, soon after, appearances on MTV, Good Morning America, Sirius Satellite Radio and NPR were followed by a rare feat of back to back appearances on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson and the Late Show with David Letterman. Waters second love is sports, which he turned into television hosting gigs for NBC Sports, TNT, The Weather Channel and ultimately ESPN. In 2018, Reese returned to his hometown to bring his insight, comedy and commentary to morning news in creating and hosting the Emmy Award Winning Get Up DC and Open Mic with Reese Waters, and The Reese Waters Radio Show. But now he has decided to strike out on his own, and he welcomes you to join him for the ride."

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