Supreme Court Judge Clarence Thomas Being Called "Uncle Ruckus" (a few examples from June 2013 - July 2022)

Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest revision- July 6, 2024

This pancocojams post presents an excerpt of the Wikipedia article about Afriican American cartoonist Aaron McCruder's fictional character "Uncle Ruckus".

This post also presents a few online examples of Supreme Court Judge Clarence Thomas being called Uncle Ruckus. These examples are gleaned from several online articles and tweets.

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
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Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/12/raise-ruckus-tonight-examples-comments.html for a pancocojams post about "Raise A Ruckus Tonight".

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INFORMATION ABOUT UNCLE RUCKUS
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncle_Ruckus
"Uncle Ruckus (born July 4, 1939) (also known as Reverend Father Uncle Ruckus, No Relation) is a fictional character on the American animated sitcom The Boondocks. Voiced by Gary Anthony Williams, he first appeared on television in the show's pilot, "The Garden Party", on November 6, 2005. Created and designed by cartoonist Aaron McGruder, Ruckus enjoyed great success after appearing in the comic strip of the same name.[1]

Ruckus had a turbulent childhood as he was raised by the abusive Mister Ruckus. His mother had a self identity crisis, often praising white people. After being kicked out of his home as a teenager, he traveled to Woodcrest, where he works odd jobs. Ruckus embodies many old American working-class stereotypes: he is crude, short-tempered, obese, rule-neglecting, clumsy, and largely ignorant. He is also internally racist, repeatedly proclaiming his love for the white race and disdain of the black race, and he even identifies as Caucasian, saying he suffers from "reverse vitiligo".

Despite this, Ruckus maintains a close relationship with Robert Freeman and yearns for social acceptance. Despite the blue-collar routine of his life, he has had a number of remarkable experiences, including work as a recording artist.".

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From https://boondocks.fandom.com/wiki/Uncle_Ruckus
Uncle Ruckus is the central antagonist of the animated TV series The Boondocks. He is voiced by Gary Anthony Williams.

His role in the series varies depending on the storyline of the episode he's featured in. He can either be one of the main antagonists, major anti-hero, or neutral. He is a black man who firmly doesn't like black people -- the world's biggest "Uncle Tom". An overweight, horrid, detestable homely man with one oversized glass-eye, he enjoys disassociating himself from other African Americans as much as possible, and is outspoken in his support of what Huey calls the "white supremacist power structure."

He holds extremely racist views towards all black people, and everyone else who isn't white. Uncle Ruckus's name is a reference to Uncle Remus or Uncle Tom. He is the darkest-skinned character on the show. His name is also a reference to Amos Rucker, an African-American United Confederate Veterans member, who allegedly wanted to stay a slave after the United States Civil War. A "ruckus" is also the act of making a noisy disturbance, something which Uncle Ruckus is almost always sure to do. His #1 song he wrote is called "Don't Trust Them New N***as Over There".

His hatred of black people comes from his black adopted (in reality biological) hopelessly deluded and damaged mother who taught him white history and told Ruckus a skewed, bigoted and lopsided history of achievements of black people such as claiming that George Washington Carver was the person responsible for the most peanut allergy deaths. This hatred was further reinforced by the fact that he was horribly abused by his father as a child.

Full name

Uncle Ruckus

Nickname

Uncle Ruckus, No Relation (he says this to distance himself from his estranged abusive father)

Reverend Father Uncle Ruckus, No Relation (whenever he introduces himself as a priest)”…
-snip-

YouTube has a number of videos of Uncle Ruckus.

WARNING: These videos contain profanity and other content that isn't suitable for children.
-snip-
Here's the meaning of the word "ruckus" from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ruckus
"1. : a noisy fight or disturbance : ROW, COMMOTION

[...]

He went outside to see what all the ruckus was about.

2: a state or situation in which many people are angry or upset : FUSS, UPROAR

… the county's GOP is embroiled in a lively legal ruckus over an attempt to seize control of the party."...

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SELECTED ONLINE EXAMPLES OF SUPREME COURT CLARENCE THOMAS BEING CALLED "UNCLE RUCKUS"

These examples are given in chronological order based on their publishing date. Numbers are added for referencing purposes only.

EXAMPLE #1
From https://www.phillytrib.com/commentary/local-commentary/on-solving-the-puzzle-of-clarence-thomas/article_4d25e41b-550c-5027-94be-4a5bc86d5035.html On solving the puzzle of Clarence Thomas by Daryl Gale Jun 28, 2013
"It’s been an up and down week for the progressives and minorities who have been closely watching the movements of the Supreme Court.

There was jubilation upon news of the ruling that gay marriage is probably about to become settled law, with the Defense of Marriage Act torn to shreds; and hair-pulling frustration at the word that key portions of the Voting Rights Act, the landmark legislation that represents the greatest victory of the civil rights era, were scuttled because — and this may be news to some of you — America has apparently gotten over its criminally racist tendencies and every individual’s right to vote is already protected.

We’ll get back to that bogus assertion in a minute, but for now, I’d like to talk about the one member of the Supreme Court whose opinions and behavior continued to baffle me until this week — our old friend Clarence Thomas.

The court’s opinion gutting the VRA was signed by the conservative justices John Roberts, Antonin Scalia, Anthony M. Kennedy, Samuel Alito, and of course, Thomas.

In an interesting aside, a white Minnesota state legislator named Ryan Winkler tweeted when the decision came down that there were “four accomplices to race discrimination and one Uncle Thomas.” Winkler was later forced to apologize to Thomas and remove the offending tweet. I, for one, wasn’t offended.

I’m just going to say it — Winkler was right. And when a white man has the nerve to call you out for acting like an Uncle Tom, you probably are one.

In fact, since I believe I’ve finally got Thomas figured out, I’ll go Winkler one better.

He’s not Uncle Thomas — he’s Uncle Ruckus.

If you’re a fan of Aaron’s McGruder’s biting satire comic and cartoon The Boondocks, you are right now laughing your head off and nodding in agreement. If you’re not a fan, let me give you a little insight into the mind and method of Uncle Ruckus.

Uncle Ruckus is a Boondocks character who’s an African American who hates, and I mean genuinely hates, Black people. His creative put downs for Blacks and his seemingly endless ability to invent new permutations of the n-word are hilarious in their absurdity.

Uncle Ruckus’ deep loathing for those who share his skin color is funny because, well, he’s Black, and it’s just a cartoon. Our friend Thomas, who shares both skin color and attitude with Ruckus, is not so funny, given the fact that as a Supreme Court justice, he has the ability to shape both law and public policy for generations to come.

[…]

And this is the guy George H.W. Bush put on the Supreme Court to replace the late civil rights icon Thurgood Marshall, who must be spinning in his grave right about now. It was clearly Bush the Elder’s racist little joke on us all.

And before you let people try to make the argument that Blacks (and anyone with a conscience) hate Thomas because he’s a Republican, keep in mind that Black folks didn’t hold the same animosity toward Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice, J.C. Watts, Mia Love, or a dozen other Black Republicans you can name. No sir, Clarence “Uncle Ruckus” Thomas holds his own special place in Black consciousness that few others could claim.”…

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EXAMPLE #2
From https://twitter.com/ImoImeh/status/349178386880540673

I AM IMO

@imoimeh

Self-Hating Negro, Uncle Ruckus, Clarence Thomas.

Smh. I refused to be stressed this Monday.

#scotus

10:53 AM · Jun 24, 2013·

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EXAMPLE #3
From https://www.nickclette.com/myblog/2015/06/marriage-equality-irrelavanceirony-of.html "arriage Equality - The Irrelavance/Irony of Uncle Clarence Thomas Ruckus", June 26, 2015
“Clarence Thomas embraces slavery in opposition to marriage equality and I'm immediately reminded of Uncle Ruckus from The Boondocks. Although in Thomas's defense.... Uncle Ruckus would have never taken the job of Supreme Court Justice in the first place.

[A drawing of Uncle Ruckus is inserted next to a photograph of Clarence Thomas. That visual has this caption:

“Ruckus (L), Thomas (R). Wait, Thomas (L), Ruckus (R). Wait....”Under that caption is this quote from Clarence Thomas]

 “The corollary of that principle is that human dignity cannot be taken away by the government.Slaves did not lose their dignity (any more than they lost their humanity) because the government allowed them to be enslaved.  Those held in internment camps did not lose their dignity because the government confined them.  And those denied government benefits certainly do not lose their dignity because the government denies them those benefits. The government cannot bestow dignity and it cannot take it away.

Also, Clarence Thomas.... you don't understand the definition. Let me help you out.

DIGNITY: the state of quality of being worthy of honor or respect.

Uncle Ruckus Thomas, do you remember the 3/5 compromise? You know, the law that states that slaves are LESS THAN A WHOLE HUMAN? Slaves, prisoners in interment camps, those denied benefits my hold themselves with dignity but to given that by the state as a right is a completely different issue. You leaped from punchline to becoming completely irrelevant (for now anyway).”….
-snip-
The bold font is the way this article was written. The word “my” in the second to the last sentence quoted is a typo for the word “may”.

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EXAMPLE #4
From https://www.austinchronicle.com/events/film/2020-02-28/created-equal-clarence-thomas-in-his-own-words/ "Created Equal: Clarence Thomas in His Own Words" 2020, NR, 116 min. Directed by Michael Pack.

Reviewed by Mike Clark-Madison, Feb, 28, 2020
"Let’s spot Clarence Thomas this at the outset: He is not obligated to justify to anyone, and certainly not to white people, why he is Not That Black Man – or, as he puts it “in his own words” in this strained video portrait, “the wrong kind of black man” to be allowed to attain power.

This matters here because Created Equal is a monologue and an apologia for the Supreme Court justice’s controversial career, yet also firmly centered on his black life. So the documentary raises the question of how a poor black boy from the Sea Islands in Georgia ends up a political and legal conservative, but then leaves it laying on the table, unanswered in a cloud of Thomas’ grouchy diffidence and reticence.

This is the sort of film made for block-bookings of MAGA church youth groups – Thomas’ wife Ginni floats in and out to drop evangelical code words about the angels and demons warring over his fate. It doesn’t say much about his judicial or political philosophy beyond brief and opaque gestures at “originalism” and “natural law” and a clip of Gary Cooper in The Fountainhead. Thomas starts to articulate a thesis of libertarianism, rather than liberalism, being the appropriate intellectual home of black men scarred by racism, but doesn’t really finish the thought; he speaks of a road-to-Damascus moment and concluding that certain principles are worth dying for, but the movie never lays out with much clarity what those are. Perhaps it’s assumed the audience will view Thomas as a virtuous warrior for God and country and Trumpish stuff, but he also comes off as a friendless misfit and kind of a hotep, the Uncle Ruckus of the Supreme Court."...
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There are several meanings for the African American Vernacular English (AAVE) word "hotep". Here's an explanation that I believe pertains to the word "hotep" as it is used in the excerpt given as Example #4:
from https://theoutline.com/post/1412/what-hotep-means ..."online, where the word has proliferated in recent years, hotep signifies a faux-wokeness associated with misogynoir, homophobia, toxic masculinity, and misguided understandings of history and science. “Hotep Twitter is the home of the #StayWoke crowd of men who claim to represent the roots of Africa or whatever…but deep down they display misogynist and homophobic traits,” warned Bossip in a 2015 post."...  

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EXAMPLE #5
From https://marleyk.medium.com/this-man-makes-me-so-ashamed-to-be-black-and-from-south-carolina-80b79f59a8bb

Marley K.

Mar 20, 2021

Earlier this month, South Carolina senator Tim Scott made the claim that woke supremacy was as bad as White supremacy. Yes, you read that right! Truth be told, given the deliriously frantic level of media coverage devo…

Tim Scott, Woke Culture, White Supremacy And Dishonest Nonsense!
Elwood Watson, Ph.D

😂😂😂😂🤣 this man makes me so ashamed to be Black and from South Carolina. Him and Uncle Ruckus Clarence Thomas. How do we keep ending up with so many of these stupid Black self-hating Black people. He's seems to be the kind of Black man that'll allow Whites in his midst to say inappropriate misappropriated slang.

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EXAMPLE #6
From https://www.reddit.com/r/seculartalk/comments/vjsfrr/clarence_thomas_is_simply_a_disgrace_imagine/  Posted by u/WilliamMcAdoo, June 24, 2022
"Clarence Thomas is simply a disgrace. Imagine replacing Thurgood Marshall, a civil rights icon, A New Dealer with this overcompensating Uncle Ruckus who helped implicitly end Miranda this week ."

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EXAMPLE #7
From https://www.trendsmap.com/twitter/tweet/1540903699664486400

⁂Ǥ𝕽ÄC͛E̸⁂🧠🕷🧟‍♀️🖤

 @graceokanuri | 202 followers

 Clarence Thomas really is just irl Uncle Ruckus huh…

25 Jun 2022  

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EXAMPLE #8

From https://www.facebook.com/ABCNews/posts/10161899369668812

ABC News

June 29 [2022]

NEW: Ketanji Brown Jackson will take both her oaths tomorrow at noon — Chief Justice John Roberts administering the Constitutional Oath and Justice Breyer delivering the Judicial Oath.

**
Brian Hopkins

June 29 [2022]

We need to get rid of Clarence Thomas aka Uncle Ruckus!"

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My Speculative Meaning For The Nickname "Coonman" That Was Given To Ralph Northam When He Was In College

Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post presents my thoughts about the meaning of the nickname "Coonman" that was given to Ralph Northam (now Governor of Virginia) by some of his friends when he was in college in 1981.

This post also includes my speculation about the derivation of the nickname "coonman".

Some examples of online articles about Ralph Northam's "coonman" nickname that was recently found in his 1981 Virginia Military Institute (college) yearbook are also included in this post.

The Addendum to this post presents definitions for the word "coonman" as it refers to hunting racoons (which is a different definition for the nickname "coonman").

The Addendum of this post also presents an old racial definition for "coon" as well as contemporary racial definitions for "coon".

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.

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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTES [Revised January 6, 2019]
Here's my definition for the nickname "Coonman":

"Coonman" is a nickname for someone who acts like a coon ("coon" is a very offensive referent for Black people)- with or without blackface.

Even more than other nicknames, the race of the person receiving this nickname is important. With regard to "Coonman" as a nickname for Ralph Northam (now Governor of the state of Virginia, USA), my belief is that "Cooman" was jokingly given as a nickname to Northam to refer to a non-Black person who mocks Black people in front of their friends and other people who aren't Black (for instance, using exaggerated Black vernacular English and exaggeratedly mimicking African American dancing).

Although "coonman" is a very offensive referent, the very fact that the term was offensive probably made it more likely to be jokingly* used by Northam's college friends.

*Definition for "jokingly": "something said or done to provoke laughter or cause amusement, as a witticism”...

-https://www.dictionary.com/browse/jokingly

Here's how I arrived at that definition as it pertains to its use by Ralph Northam:

1. The meaning "a person who hunts raccoons" is another definition for "coonman" which is only relevant to the definition given above in that "raccoon" is the source word for "coon" for both of these definitions.

2. The nickname "Coonman" derives from the racial slur "Coon". However, read #9 given below.

3. As a result of online searches, 1981 is the earliest documented date for the use of the nickname "Coonman". That nickname was one of two nicknames that are listed under the photograph of now Virginia Governor Ralph Northam in the Virginia Military Institute [college] yearbook for that year.

In defining the nickname "Coonman" and its use for non-Black people, it's important to note that while "coon" is an offensive referent for a Black person, Ralph Northam is White.

4. With the exception of a February 1, 2019 urbandictionary.com entry [more on that later], the only online references that I've found for "coonman" refer to Ralph Northam (i.e. the nickname listed under his photograph in his 1981 Virginia Military Institute yearbook and online articles/blog comments from Feb. 1, 2019 about that discovery).

I assume that Northam either gave that nickname (along with the nickname "Goose") to his college's yearbook committee to be placed under his photograph and name in that college yearbook, or that Northam otherwise knew that that nickname would appear under his name and photograph.

I don't believe that Northam would include a nickname for himself on that page that he considered insulted him.

5. The urbandictionary.com entry for "Coonman" as of this date [Feb. 4, 2019] "Someone who doesn't like black people" is the correct definition is the only entry for that term as of this date [Feb. 4, 2019]. Given that definition's publishing date of Feb. 1, 2019, I idafterdatef. Gon dicfor that term as it refers to Ralph Northam.

6. I don't think that "Coonman" meant "ni&&er" lover as I believe that some of Northam's friends (and probably Northam himself) would consider that an insult. If that were the meaning of "Coonman", my guess is that Northam wouldn't allow that nickname to be used for him and certainly wouldn't have given it to the yearbook committee to be placed under his name and photo.

7. I don't agree with the writers of various online articles who indicated that the nickname "coonman" that was given to Ralph Northam is a racial slur. "Coon" is a racial slur for Black people. The definition for racial slur doesn't fit the nickname "coonman" as it was used by some of Northam's friends. Instead of "Coonman" (as it was given as a nickname to Ralph Northam who is White) being a racial slur, I would call it a racial nickname. If a Black male was called "Coonman" the definition of that term would remain the same "A man who acts like a coon", but the term would then be a racial slur. However, there would be no need to use the term "Coonman" as "Coon" would suffice.

8. I think that Ralph Northam's friends called him "Coonman" in jest. As I noted earlier, Ralph Northam's nickname "Coonman" is the only example that I can find online for the nickname "coonman"- apart from the urbandictionary.com entry).

9. I wonder if the nickname "Coonman" was coined as a form of the referent "soul man". "Soul Man", a hit 1967 R&B song by Sam & Dave which was included in the 1980 hit movie "Blues Brothers". Note that Northam's nickname "coonman" was found in his 1981 college yearbook.

Dating from the 1960s, "soul" is a referent for Black people, i.e. "soul music"; "soul food", "soul brother"; soul sister". "Coon" is a very offensive referent for Black people and "soul" is a positive referent for Black people.

Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cSyZY1dBpI a YouTube sound file of Sam & Dave performing "Soul Man". Here's an excerpt of that sound files summary:
""Soul Man", recorded by Sam & Dave (Samuel David Moore & Dave Prater) in 1967, peaking at #1 on the Billboard Hot Black Singles chart, and #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US. ... This original version of the song has been recognized as one of the most influential songs of the past 50 years by the Grammy Hall of Fame, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Rolling Stone magazine, and RIAA Songs of the (20th)Century. "Soul Man" was awarded the 1968 Grammy Award for Best Rhythm & Blues Group Performance, Vocal or Instrumental. Singers Sam & Dave helped to pave the way for the acceptance of soul music by white pop audiences helping define the genre. "Soul Man" later resurfaced as the keynote song in the 1980 American musical comedy film staring John Belushi and Dan Akroyd (a.k.a. The Blues Brothers) who performed the song.
-snip-
Italics added to highlight this sentence.

Note that John Belushi (deceased) was White and Dan Akroyd is White.

Also, read this excerpt of https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2010/12/the-blues-brothers-soul-man.html that documents the popularity of the 1980 Blues Brother's version of "Soul Man".
"While opening for comedian Steve Martin at the Universal Amphitheatre in 1978, the Blues Brothers recorded their debut album, Briefcase Full Of The Blues. This live recording, which captured the raw energy of the group far better than any studio recording could have done, proved to be a very wise decision, as the album shot up to #1 and spawned two Top 40 hits, with covers of the Isaac Hayes/Dave Porter penned "Soul Man" and the Chips' "Rubber Biscuit." ".

Addition: January 6, 2019
From https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/2/6/1832780/-Rant-Not-that-anyone-here-asked-after-all-I-am-only-one-black-man
"Rant: Not that anyone here asked...after all, I am only one black man..." published by Chitown Kev on February 06, 2019 · 2:48 PM EST
laverdure February 06 · 05:04:06 PM [comment]
"what’s worrisome is his nickname “Coonman”—seems to indicate he did blackface all the time—was known for it. That requires explaining. and likely resignation—"...

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URBAN DICTIONARY DEFINITION FOR "COONMAN"
From https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=coonman
"coonman
Someone who does not like black people.
"Yo, Coonman, you done beatin' on them negroes?"
by Billy J February 01, 2019
-snip-
This is the only definition for coonman that is found in this community submitted definition page. The February 1, 2019 date strongly implies that this word was added to urbandictionary.com because of the recent publicity about Ralph Northam's "coonman" nickname on his 1981 college Yearbook page.

As indicated above, I don't believe that this is the correct meaning for "coonman" as used it was as a nickname for Ralph Northam (now Governor of Virginia).

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EXCERPT FROM AN ONLINE ARTICLE ABOUT RALPH NORTHAM'S NICKNAME "COONMAN"
From https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6659393/Virginia-governor-Ralph-Northams-yearbook-page-shows-men-KKK-hood-blackface.html
"Virginia's late-abortion supporting Democrat governor Ralph Northam admits he WAS was one of two men who donned blackface and KKK robe for medical school yearbook photo - but refuses to resign
By KEITH GRIFFITH FOR DAILYMAIL.COM; PUBLISHED: 17:34 EST, 1 February 2019 | UPDATED: 11:05 EST, 2 February 2019
..."In another startling revelation, another photo emerged on Friday showing Northam in his 1981 undergraduate yearbook at the Virginia Military Institute.

The entry lists one of Northam's nicknames as 'Coonman'. The nickname seemingly refers to the racial epithet, but its meaning is unclear.

[...]

[A photo of] Northam is seen left in a 1981 VMI yearbook photo that lists his nickname as 'Coonman', and right in a 1984 yearbook photo from Eastern Virginia Medical School"...

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EXCERPT FROM A REPUBLICAN LEANING BLOG ABOUT RALPH NORTHAM'S COONMAN'S NICKNAME
From https://www.yourdictionary.com/racial-slur

2. ..."ethnic slurs (ethnophaulisms) [are words] that are, or have been, used as insinuations or allegations about members of a given ethnicity, or to refer to them in a derogatory (that is, critical or disrespectful), pejorative (disapproving or contemptuous), or otherwise insulting manner."...
-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ethnic_slurs

Note that Wikipedia's list of racial slurs (as of February 4, 2019) includes the word "coon" but doesn't include "coonman".
"Coon
(U.S., UK) a black person. Possibly from Portuguese barracão or Spanish barracón, a large building constructed to hold merchandise, where slaves were kept for sale, anglicised to barracoon (1837).[95][96] Popularized by the song "Zip Coon", played at Minstrel shows in the 1830s."...
-snip-
Read the Addendum below for more information about the racial slur "coon".

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SOME OTHER EXAMPLES OF ONLINE ARTICLES THAT REFER TO NORTHAM AS "COONMAN" AND REFER THAT NICKNAME AS A RACIAL SLUR OR POSSIBLE RACIAL SLUR
Here are some examples from a large number of online articles that refer to "Coonman" as being a racial slur, "sometimes a racial slur", "containing a racial slur" etc.
{These examples are given in no particular order, and are numbered for referencing purposes only; given without hyperlinks]

1. Virginia governor apologizes for 'racist and offensive' costume in photo ...
https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/01/politics/northam-blackface-photo/index.html
Feb. 1, 2019 - Ralph Northam confirmed Friday he was in a racist yearbook photo showing ... of the names or the use of Coonman, which can be a racial slur.

2. Va. Gov. Ralph Northam Defies Calls To Resign, Doesn't Recall Being ...
https://www.npr.org/2019/02/02/.../va-governor-says-he-wont-resign-over-racist-photo
Feb 1, 2019 - "... listed the nickname "Coonman," a term sometimes used as a racial slur, ...

3. Governor Admits He Was in Racist Yearbook Photo - The New York ...
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/01/us/.../ralph-northam-yearbook-blackface.html
Feb 1, 2019 - ..." had been known as “Coonman” as an undergraduate student there. The governor has not addressed the nickname, which contains a racial slur.

4. https://www.wsls.com/news/virginia/gov-northams-vmi-yearbook-photo-lists-racial-slur-as-a-nickname https://www.wsls.com/news/virginia/gov-northams-vmi-yearbook-photo-lists-racial-slur-as-a-nickname

5. https://www.wsls.com/news/virginia/gov-northams-vmi-yearbook-photo-lists-racial-slur-as-a-nickname https://www.wsls.com/news/virginia/gov-northams-vmi-yearbook-photo-lists-racial-slur-as-a-nickname

6. Gov. Northam's VMI yearbook photo lists racial slur as a nickname
A VMI yearbook shows a racial slur listed under a nickname for the governor
By Tommy Lopez - Weekend Anchor / Reporter
Posted: 10:29 AM, February 02, 2019
Updated: 10:29 AM, February 02, 201

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ADDENDUM #1: COMMENTS ABOUT THE TERM "COONMAN" MEANING "HUNTING RACOONS" (and more)
(with numbers added for referencing purposes only)

From https://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/coon/
"The Coon Caricature
The coon caricature is one of the most insulting of all anti-black caricatures. The name itself, an abbreviation of raccoon, is dehumanizing. As with Sambo, the coon was portrayed as a lazy, easily frightened, chronically idle, inarticulate, buffoon. The coon differed from the Sambo in subtle but important ways. Sambo was depicted as a perpetual child, not capable of living as an independent adult. The coon acted childish, but he was an adult; albeit a good-for-little adult. Sambo was portrayed as a loyal and contented servant. Indeed, Sambo was offered as a defense for slavery and segregation. How bad could these institutions have been, asked the racialists, if blacks were contented, even happy, being servants? The coon, although he often worked as a servant, was not happy with his status. He was, simply, too lazy or too cynical to attempt to change his lowly position. Also, by the 1900s, Sambo was identified with older, docile blacks who accepted Jim Crow laws and etiquette; whereas coons were increasingly identified with young, urban blacks who disrespected whites. Stated differently, the coon was a Sambo gone bad.

The prototypical movie coon was Stepin Fetchit, the slow-talking, slow-walking, self-demeaning nitwit. It took his character almost a minute to say: "I'se be catchin' ma feets nah, Boss." Donald Bogle (1994), a cinema historian, lambasted the coon, as played by Stepin Fetchit and others"...

2. contemporary definitions:
From https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=coon
"Coon
An insulting term used by both races.

When used by whites it translates to "ni&&er*".

When used by blacks its describing an uncle Rukus type character.

A black person who is ignorant to white discrimination and unknowingly suffers with self hatred.

A black man who only dates white women or only find white women attractive.
"Samuel L Jackson played a coon in the movie Django."

"Great! The only black news-caster for FOX didn't find anything wrong the white policeman only arresting the black kids in a group of black and white kids! What a coon!"
#ni&&er*#coon#uncle rukus#coonass#django"
by Tuttie504 September 02, 2015
-snip-
*This word is fully spelled out in this comment.

It's important to note that this definition indicates that the word "coon" has different meanings depending on the race of the person using it.

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From https://www.quora.com/What-is-cooninghttps://www.quora.com/What-is-cooning
What is "cooning?"
"Cooning" is when a self-hating African-American plays the fool for a White audience in exchange for the limited social acceptance the latter are willing to give within their racial hierarchy. Black people who act this way are referred to as "coons" by other disgusted Blacks, who view the behavior as treacherous in nature.”…
-Muhammad Rasheed, Updated Nov 27, 2018

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Racist Lyrics In Song Sources And Early Versions Of The Song "I've Been Working On The Railroad"

Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post presents information about and lyrics for song sources and early versions of the well known American song "I've Been Working On The Railroad".

Many of these lyrics would be considered racist today and were considered racist by some people in the 19th century when they were composed and performed.

The Addendum to this post quotes an excerpt from a Wikipedia article about the use of the name "Dinah" in 19th century United States. I also quoted this excerpt in the 2017 pancocojams post entitled "Information About & Several Early Lyric Examples Of "Shake That Little Foot, Sally" (also known as "Shake That Little Foot Dinah O")" http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/05/information-about-several-early-lyric.html

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.

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INFORMATION ABOUT SONG SOURCES FOR "I'VE BEEN WORKING ON THE RAILROAD"
These excerpts are given in no particular order and are numbered for referencing purposes only.

Amended spelling (indicated by an asterisk) is used in this post for the oejorative referent "ni&&er" or "ni&&ah". The full spellings for those referents are found in those lyrics.

Excerpt #1:
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I%27ve_Been_Working_on_the_Railroad
"I've Been Working on the Railroad" is an American folk song. The first published version appeared as "Levee Song" in Carmina Princetonia, a book of Princeton University songs published in 1894.[1] The earliest known recording is by the Sandhills Sixteen, released by Victor Records in 1927.[2]

Lyrics
The verses that generally constitute the modern version of the song are:[3]

I've been working on the railroad
All the live-long day.
I've been working on the railroad
Just to pass the time away.
Can't you hear the whistle blowing,
Rise up so early in the morn;
Can't you hear the captain shouting,
"Dinah, blow your horn!"
Dinah, won't you blow,
Dinah, won't you blow,
Dinah, won't you blow your horn?
Dinah, won't you blow,
Dinah, won't you blow,
Dinah, won't you blow your horn?
Someone's in the kitchen with Dinah
Someone's in the kitchen I know
Someone's in the kitchen with Dinah
Strummin' on the old banjo!
Singin' fee, fie, fiddly-i-o
Fee, fie, fiddly-i-o-o-o-o
Fee, fie, fiddly-i-o
Strummin' on the old banjo.

The 1894 version includes a verse very much like the modern song, though in negro* minstrel dialect, but with an intro that is no longer sung:[4][5]

(SOLO) I once did know a girl named Grace--
(QUARTET) I'm wukkin' on de levee;
(SOLO) She done brung me to dis sad disgrace
(QUARTET) O' wukkin' on de levee.
I been wukkin' on de railroad
All de livelong day,
I been wukkin' on de railroad
Ter pass de time away.
Doan' yuh hyah de whistle blowin'?
Ris up, so uhly in de mawn;
Doan' yuh hyah de cap'n shouin',
"Dinah, blow yo' hawn?"
Sing a song o' the city;
Roll dat cotton bale;
Ni&&ah aint half so happy
As when he's out o' jail
Norfolk foh its oystahshells,
Boston foh its beans,
Chahleston foh its rice an' cawn,
But foh ni&&ahs New Awleens.

The "Someone's in the kitchen with Dinah" section, with its noticeably different melody, is actually an older song that has been absorbed by "I've Been Working on the Railroad". It was published as "Old Joe, or Somebody in the House with Dinah" in London in the 1830s or '40s, with music credited to J.H. Cave.[6] "Dinah" was a generic name for an enslaved African woman.[7] The melody for this section of the song may have been adapted from "Goodnight, Ladies", written (as "Farewell Ladies") in 1847 by E.P. Christy.[8]

According to the liner notes to Pete Seeger's Children's Concert at Town Hall (1963), the "Dinah won't you blow" section is a more modern addition, contributed to the song by "some college students".[9]"....
-snip-
*The referent "negro" spelled with a small "n" is considered to be very offensive. Furthermore, "Negro" [spelled with a upper case "N") has been dropped as a referent for Black Americans since the late 1960s.

"Captain" in 19th century minstrel songs often referred to the White man who was in charge of the workers.

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Excerpt #2
From https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=65298
Subject: RE: Origins: Someone's in the kitchen with Dinah

1. From: GUEST,.gargoyle
Date: 16 Sep 04 - 02:35 AM

"Long Steel Rail, Cohen, 1981 p540.
"I've Been Working on the Railroad" is often followed directly by some other ditty - generally, "Some's in the Kitchen with Dinah," doubless suggested by the last line of the chorus. "Dinah, won't you blow your horn. "Fuld has discussed the sources of this song noting that the words with a different melody from the usual one were published under the title "Old Jo[e] , or Somebody in the House with Dinah." about 1834-1845. The usual melody is probably a variation on "Goodnight Ladies." (8) The latter piece itself derives from an 1847 publication. "Farewell Ladies, " but the more usual form was first printed in 1867. (9)

8. Fuld, World-Famous Music, pp. 513-14.

9. Ibid p. 255."

**
2. From: GUEST,Kay
Date: 12 Nov 04 - 06:30 PM

"The song "Somebody's in de House wid Dinah" was evidently a minstrel show tune/skit. It appears in a banjo instructional book called "Phil Rice's Banjo Instructor", which was published in 1858. Phil Rice was a minstrel banjoist who worked the riverboat circuit and died in 1857, before the book was published.

The book has the song tune, the banjo accompaniment to go along with it, and dialogue to be spoken between verses of the song. The tune is not the same as the one I know, but it does have the same rhythm and a similar tune. The singer/speaker is suspicious that another man is in the house "making lub wid my Dinah." Since this is is an 1850's minstrel show skit, it has exaggerated dialect. Here are the three verses in the book (with some word substitution):

Oh, somebody's in de house wid Dinah,
Somebody in de house, I know,
Somebody's in de house wid Dinah,
A playin on de old Banjo.

I know dere's a fella in de house wid Dinah,
Dere's a fella in de house, I know,
If I cotch a fella in de house wid Dinah,
I'll knock him on de head wid dis Banjo.

Dere's a big ol' fella in de house wid Dinah,
Show me dat fella in de house, by Jo,
Bring me dat fella in de house wid Dinah,
I'll show him the size of my big toe."

**
3. From: masato sakurai
Date: 12 Nov 04 - 07:32 PM

"Old Joe" (with verse 2: "There's/Dere's some one in the/de house with Dinah") is at Bodleian Library Broadside Ballads.

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4. From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 12 Nov 04 - 08:24 PM

"A lot of speculation but little factual in the remarks about Dinah.
She appears in early minstrel songs, and had crossed to England probably about 1840. She appears there in several broadsides in the song "Old Joe," sung with some differences in the lyrics. I think that this is the one to whicn Masato referred. Note lines suggestive of "Old Dan Tucker," which seems to be older.

Lyr. Add: OLD JOE (1)

Old Joe sat at de garden gate,
He couldn't get in kase he'd com'd too late;
He up wid a stone and knock at de door:
"I wants to come in," says dis black Joe.
"Who's dere?" "Old Joe." "What de Joe?"
"Yes, de Joe"--
Old Joe kicking up behind and before,
De yaller gal kicking up behind old Joe.

"Dere's some one in de house wid Dinah,
Dere's some one in de house, I know;
Dere's some one in de house wid Dinah,
Playing on de old banjo."

Out come Dinah,--"What for you dere?"
"I want a gun to shoot dat *hare;"
"Come, old ni&&er, dat game won't do,
You'd better go home and mend your shoe"--
Old Joe, &c.

He came to town in shocking fright,
For he heard a noise, and he saw a fight;
Some boys were running up and down,
Shouting, "Old Joe is just come to town!"--
Old Joe, &c.

In come a nI&&er with a blue tail'd coat;
"Can you give me a change of a five pound note?"
"About your notes I do not know,
But I'll give you a note on the old banjo."--
Old Joe, &c.

* hare becomes bear or bare in other printings.
Bodleian Collection, Harding B11(4341). Printed between 1797 and 1834 by Walker, Durham. [My guess is about 1835-1840]. Printed on the same sheet with "Buffalo Gals" and "Ye Mariners of England." Obviously revised from American original to suit an English audience. Broadsides crossed the water as fast as sailing vessels could carry them."
=snip-
"yaller girl"= a light skinned female with some Black African ancestry

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5. From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 13 Nov 04 - 12:36 AM

"The song "I've Been Working on the Railroad" is best followed through threads 511, 32615 and 50253. It is much more recent than "Dinah," as previously noted.

50253: Posted here is the original song that was the basis for "I've Been Working on the Railroad," called the "Levee Song," from "Carmina Princetonia," 1894, (The Princeton Songbook), copyright Martin R. Dennis & Co. There is no evidence of the song before 1894 (Norm Cohen, Long Steel Rail, p. 538-539) although Theodore Raph claimed that it occurred before that date. Levee, in about 1900, was often applied to almost any construction requiring laborers.
The full text is quoted by Masato. Dinah Levee Song https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=50253 Lyr Req: Someone's in the Kitchen with Dinah

The 'horn' is the wake-up or go to work call for the workers. Why it is called Dinah is not known, although an unwelcome shrill blast might well be given a female name."

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Excerpt 3:
From https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=32615 Origins: I've Been Working on the Railroad
1. From: Joe Offer
Date: 16 Sep 08 - 12:57 PM

"If you look above you'll see that the best guess as to the origin of "I've Been Working on the Railroad" is that it was published as "Levee Song" in the 1894 edition of Carmina Princetonia - although portions of the song came earlier. Masato posted the 1894 lyrics in this thread. Take a look at the crosslinked threads listed at the top of this page.
I guess you could say this is three songs linked together: "I've Been Working on the Railroad," "Someone's In the Kitchen With Dinah," and "Dinah Won't You Blow Your Horn." Another interesting aspect of the song is that it's a relatively complex song, and yet everybody seems to know it with exactly the same lyrics and melody. I wonder when and how it achieved such universality.

-Joe-"

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2. From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 16 Sep 08 - 02:55 PM

..."Nothing found earlier than "The Levee Song," 1894, as noted by Joe.
In addition to the printing in Carmina princetonia, sheet music to "The Levee Song" was published by Hinds, Noble and Eldridge, 1900 (note in Scarborough).

Most of the verses sung with it are add-ons, from "Down on the Ohio," "Down Went Maginty," "In the Evening by the Moonlight," "Hear dem Bells," etc. (Noted in no. 234, Work Songs, The Frank C. Brown Collection of North Carolina Folklore, vol. 3).
Neither Newman I. White, American Negro Folk Songs, nor Dorothy Scarborough, On the Trail of Negro Folk-Songs, considered it to be of Negro origin.
Scarborough recorded an add-on verse, from minstrel shows-

Sing me a song of the city,
(Roll dem cotton bales)
Darky ain't half so happy
As when he's out of jail.
Mobile for its oyster shells,
Boston for its beans,
Charleston for its cotton bales,
But for yaller gals- New Orleans!"

**
3.Subject: RE: Origins: I've Been Working on the Railroad
From: GUEST,Songbob
Date: 09 May 12 - 10:41 AM

"Someone's In De Kitchen Wid Dinah" was a Minstrel Show song of nearly no appeal -- it's almost a cantefable, in that it has spoken parts, and is essentially an argument between two suitors of Dinah, whoever she is. It's full of the N word and the worst stereotypes of African-Americans you can imagine. It's almost as bad as the "coon" songs of the 1880s-90s, when the happy-go-lucky image of contented darkies who lub dem dar massa gave way to chicken-stealin', razor-cutting, dangerous Negro images, which I think are more accurately "these-are-poor-folk-like-us-and-compete-for-our-jobs" images.

In Minstrel show days, African Americans were child-like and nearly innocent. And more or less safe, since they were confined to Massa's keeping. After 1865, and particularly after Reconstruction ended, freedmen were competitors, and much less safe. So the imagery changed to match.

In any case, the original "Someone's In De Kitchen Wid Dinah" does not actually appear in "I've Been Working" as such. There's certainly no repeated chorus lines like in the latter song; it's possible someone found the lyrics to "Kitchen" and, not knowing the tune, incorporated it into "Railroad" -- but just one line. It's even possible that the old Minstrel song was known by some in the college community, and the reference in "Railroad" is just a reference to a shared knowledge; sort of like the references to "the tables down at Morey's" in the "Whiffenpoof Song" -- but this is just speculation on my part.

That's all I know.

Bob Clayton"
-snip-
"Cantefable"= "Any text or work, especially a folk tale, consisting partly of prose and partly of (sung or recited) verse." https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/cantefable

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Excerpt #4
From https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=50253 Lyr Req: Someone's in the Kitchen with Dinah
1. From: GUEST,ADalton
Date: 14 Jul 10 - 02:08 PM

"Here are the lyrics to "I've been working on the Railroad" as they appear in "Fireside Book of Folk Songs" selected and edited by Margaret Bradford Boni, copyright 1947 by Simon & Schuster.

"Oh I was bo'n in Mobile town, I'm wukkin' on de levee
All day I roll de cotton down, A wukkin' on de levee
chorus: I been wukkin' on de railroad all de live-long day
I been wukkin' on de rail-road to pass de time a-way
Doan' yo' hyar de whistle blowin? Rise up so early in de mawn
Doan' yo' hyar de Cap'n shoutin' 'Dinah blow yo' hawn'
I use' to have a dog name' Bill, A wukkin' on de levee
He run away, but I'm here still, A wukkin' on de levee
(chorus)
Dat li'l ole dog up an' beg, A-wukkin' on de levee
Till I done give him chicken leg, A wukkin' on de levee
(chorus)
I once did know I girl named Grace,while wukkin' on de levee,
She done bring me to dis sad disgrace, A-wukkin' on de levee."

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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Someone's in the Kitchen with Dinah
From: Dave Hunt
Date: 26 Jul 13 - 10:01 AM

Collected in Broseley Shropshire - used by the local morris dancers in the 19th century
We (Ironmen of Ironbridge, about mile from Broseley) still use the tune for one of our dances.
Shropshire Bedlams also use it. It's a version of Not for Joe

Somebody's in the house with Dinah, somebody's in the house I know
Somebody's in the house with Dinah, playing on the old banjo

Too ra loo ra li doe, too ra loo ra li doe, too ra loo ra li doe
playing on the old banjo

Oh there was a little n***er and he grew no bigger, so they put him in the wild west show
He tumbled from the wind'er and he broke his little finger
And couldn't play the old banjo"
-snip-
Click https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morris_dance for information about morris dancers. Here's an excerpt from
"Morris dance is a form of English folk dance usually accompanied by music. It is based on rhythmic stepping and the execution of choreographed figures by a group of dancers, usually wearing bell pads on their shins. Implements such as sticks, swords and handkerchiefs may also be wielded by the dancers.

[...]

The name is first recorded in the mid-15th century as Morisk dance, moreys daunce, morisse daunce, i.e. "Moorish dance". The term entered English via Flemish mooriske danse. Comparable terms in other languages are German Moriskentanz (also from the 15th century), French morisques, Croatian moreška, and moresco, moresca or morisca in Italy and Spain. The modern spelling Morris-dance first appears in the 17th century.[7]

It is unclear why the dance was named, "unless in reference to fantastic dancing or costumes", i.e. the deliberately "exotic" flavour of the performance.[8] The English dance thus apparently arose as part of a wider 15th-century European fashion for supposedly "Moorish" spectacle, which also left traces in Spanish and Italian folk dance."...
-snip-
The custom of "blackening" their faces is still practiced by some "sides" [groups] of morris dancers.
-snip-
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/10/such-getting-upstairs-lyrics-morris.html for a pancocojams post entitled "Such A Getting Upstairs" (Lyrics & Morris Dance Videos). "Such A Getting Upstairs" is another example of morris dancers in the United Kingdom dancing to American minstrel music. That post includes videos of morris sides dancing to that song.

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ADDENDUM: Excerpt About the use of the name "Dinah" in 19th century United States
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinah#Symbol_of_black_womanhood
"[Dinah"] Symbol of black womanhood
In 19th-century America, "Dinah" became a generic name for an enslaved African woman.[12] At the 1850 Woman's Rights Convention in New York, a speech by Sojourner Truth was reported on in the New York Herald, which used the name "Dinah" to symbolize black womanhood as represented by Truth:

"In a convention where sex and color are mingled together in the common rights of humanity, Dinah, and Burleigh, and Lucretia, and Frederick Douglas [sic], are all spiritually of one color and one sex, and all on a perfect footing of reciprocity. Most assuredly, Dinah was well posted up on the rights of woman, and with something of the ardor and the odor of her native Africa, she contended for her right to vote, to hold office, to practice medicine and the law, and to wear the breeches with the best white man that walks upon God's earth.[12]

Lizzie McCloud, a slave on a Tennessee plantation during the American Civil War, recalled that Union soldiers called all enslaved women "Dinah". Describing her fear when the Union army arrived, she said: "We was so scared we run under the house and the Yankees called 'Come out Dinah' (didn't call none of us anything but Dinah). They said 'Dinah, we're fightin' to free you and get you out from under bondage'."[13] After the end of the war in 1865 The New York Times exhorted the newly liberated slaves to demonstrate that they had the moral values to use their freedom effectively, using the names "Sambo" and "Dinah" to represent male and female former slaves: "You are free Sambo, but you must work. Be virtuous too, oh Dinah!"[14]

The name Dinah was subsequently used for dolls and other images of black women.[15]

Notes:
12. Footnote 3 to "Women's Rights Convention", The New York Herald, October 26, 1850; U.S. Women's History Workshop.
13. Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States From Interviews with Former Slaves, The Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1938. Library of Congress, 1941.
14. Gutmann, Herbert. "Persistent Myths about the Afro-American Family" in The Slavery Reader, Psychology Press, 2003, p.263.
15. Husfloen, Kyle. Black Americana, Krause Publications, 2005, p.64.
-snip-
It should also be noted that "Dinah" is often given as "old Aunt Dinah" ("ole Aunt Dinah") in 20th century songs (including African American social dance/game songs and Anglo-American minstrel songs). One example of this usage is
"Ole Aunt Dinah
Sick in bed
Called the doctor
And the doctor said
"Get up, Dinah
You ain't sick.
All you need is a hickory stick."*

Those references were for older Black women, "aunt" being a substitute for "Mrs" which conveyed more status and respect and was (therefore) reserved for White women. "Uncle" -instead of "Mr." - was the equivalent title for older Black men.
-snip-
*In these lyrics "hickory stick" means a beating with a hickory stick.

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"More Work For The Undertaker" Song (sound file, lyrics, & examples)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post is part of an ongoing series on English language songs and rhymes that include the name "Sambo".

This post focuses on the song "More Work For The Undertaker". That song is also known as "Sambo Got A Job At The Railroad",
"Sam Got A Job At The Railroad" and other similar names.

The content of this post is presented for historical and folkloric purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SONG "MORE WORK FOR THE UNDERTAKER" [MWFTU]
From http://stalkingthebelleepoque.blogspot.com/2011/10/at-music-hall-more-work-for-undertaker.html At the Music Hall: More Work for the Undertaker
..."This rather macabre and grim song predates this recording. It had a long life in the Nineteenth Century as a British music hall favorite. As was often the case, the song found its way to America, where, as always, it was Americanized with different lyrics. The newer lyrics are those printed above and those you’ll hear in Quinn’s recording.

The original version seems to have been by Fred W. Leigh with words by “Burton and Brooks.” The British Music Hall version concerned the dangerous misadventures of a youth named Sambo (yes, Sambo—fill in the blanks). The refrain of “another little job for the casket maker” seems to have originally been “another little job for the tombstone maker.” Like all of these popular songs which pre-date major efforts at recording, their original versions all differ slightly."
-snip-
Editor's Comment:
Versions of "More Work For The Undertaker" are documented in the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and in other English speaking nations. One person wrote on a Mudcat folk music discussion thread about this song that "my mom sang [this song] to me when I was little, in the early 1960's. What's interesting is that my mom is Jamaican, so the song was not "Sammy" (or Sambo, as I've seen elsewhere) but "Jumbo" (or Jambo?). Guest, http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=72967 "Sam got a job on the railroad", 06 Aug 08 - 08:02 PM

In addition to its performance in British music halls and in United States vaudeville theatre, versions of "More Work For The Undertaker" have been taught as a "fun, nonsense" song in schools, in Girl Guides, Boy Scouts, and other children's groups. This song is also documented as having been sung by Yale University Glee Clubs, and other university Glee club. MWFTU is also documented as being chanted as a playground skipping rhyme in the United Kingdom. (For example, read the comment posted by
cobber on http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=21520 ,19 Apr 03 - 04:40 AM

In some versions of "More Work For The Undertaker", although not the Dan Quinn version, the character who worked on the railroad and met his death in various ways was named "Sambo". The character's name was "cleaned up" in other versions, resulting in the title "Sam Worked On The Railroad", "Sam Got A Job On The Railroad", and similar titles. The character's name is also given as "Soloman Levi".

The name "Sambo" is intricately tied in the English speaking world to a depiction of Black men as childish, happy go lucky, lazy, and irresponsible. However, it appears from reading online blogs about this song [including at least two discussion threads on the Mudcat folk music forum, and a Google Answers page] that a number of people still have nostalgic feelings about the "More Work For The Undertaker" song - regardless of whether it includes the Sambo name or not.

This song and songs like "The Crazy Old Man From China" which has at least two active Mudcat discussion threads are evidence of how difficult it is to stop the transmission of songs to new generations of children when people have fond childhood memories of those songs, and when they either don't know or don't care about what other people consider to be socially offensive and socially problematic lyrics in those songs.

*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coon_song

"Coon songs were a genre of music that presented a racist and stereotyped image of Blacks. They were popular in the United States and around the English-speaking world from 1880 to 1920.

Click http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=21520
More Work for the Undertaker (F W Leigh) [hereafter given as Mudcat MWFTU] for more information about this song & for the lyrics of the Dan Quinn version of that song.

Also, click http://testaae.greenwood.com/doc_print.aspx?fileID=GR4181&chapterID=GR4181-5570&path=encyclopedias/greenwood The Jim Crow Encyclopedia: Racial Stereotypes for more information about the Sambo caricature.

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EXAMPLES OF "MORE WORK FOR THE UNDERTAKER" THAT INCLUDE THE NAME "SAMBO"
Example #1:
This is a song my Mum sang to me when I was a little nipper; she had learned it when she was young. Unfortunately, this is all I can remember (it was a long time ago). Hope it is the one you are looking for.

By the way, for those of you not from the UK, two-and-six refers to two shillings and sixpence - a lot of money back when Mum was a young girl.

Sambo had an auntie, an auntie very rich,
One day she said to Sambo, "I'll give you two-and-six."
Sambo feeling thirsty, went inside a shop;
Six Lemonades, Two Ginger Beers
And Sambo went off, Pop!

More work for the undertaker,
Another little job for the tombstone maker,
There in the local cemetery, on a tombstone you will see;
"Sambo the Brave and Free."

Sambo had an auntie, an auntie very poor,
One day she said to Sambo, "Go and clean the floor."
Sambo feeling tired tried to go to bed,
Tried to climb the banister and fell down on his head!
Crash! Bang!

More work for the undertaker,
Another little job for the tombstone maker,
There in the local cemetery, on a tombstone you will see;
"Sambo the Brave and Free."
- GUEST,Minstrel, Mudcat: MWFTU, 22 May 00 - 05:45 PM

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Example #2
Minstrel gave one version (from memory). My version differs (Also from memory)

Sambo had an auntie, an auntie very rich,
One day she said to Sambo, "I'll give you two-and-six."
Sambo feeling thirsty, went into a shop;
Ten Ginger Beers and ten lemonades
And Sambo went off, Pop!

More work for the undertaker,
Another little job for the tombstone maker,
Down in the local cemetery, on a tombstone you will see;
"Sambo CC"

Sambo had an auntie, an auntie very poor,
One day she said to Sambo, "I'll make you clean the floor."
Sambo didn't like it, went upstairs to bed,
Sliding on the bannister he fell and cracked his head!

More work for the undertaker,
Another little job for the tombstone maker,
Down in the local cemetery, on a tombstone you will see;
"Sambo CC."


Another verse which I can't fully recall was about Sambo working as a cleaner on the railways. Something about cleaning the lines with "a bar of Sunlight soap" Again he comes to a sticky end.

The last line of the chorus is decidedly 'non-PC' as I was told that the inscription on the tombstone was "Sambo CC" where the 'CC' stands for 'Chocolate Coon'.
-Nigel Parsons,Mudcat- MWFTU, Date: 13 Apr 03 - 08:44 PM

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Example #3:
I learnt the song at an Autralia primary school in the 1970's. I
loved it but didnt understand the racial slur overtones it contained.

I remember parts of another verse that went something like.

Sambo went for a swimg one day, in his overcoat
He climbed aboard the diving board, and kicked off his left boot.
Suddenly the board it broke and Sambo gave a yell,
In his overcoat, without let boot and into the water he fell.

Bang... more work for the under taker
7/6 for the tombstone maker
off the local cemetery, on a tombstone you'll see
Sambo thats me.

.. continued rfom above...

Also my recollection of the railway verse is :.

Sambo joined the railway, his heart was full of hope,
He tried to scrub the railway line with a bar of mouldy soap
A train came around the bend, screaming down the track
Would you beleive, he rolled up his sleeves and push that engine back!

Bang...


(I hope yo teach my little baby daughter this song but maybe I will
remove the racial name Sambo and replce it maybe with something like Banjo.)
-bbakerman-ga, http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=172483 "school song", 25 Oct 2004

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FEATURED EXAMPLE [added November 1, 2016]

Dan W. Quinn "More Work for the Undertaker" RARE VISUALS Edison cylinder



Tim Gracyk, Published on Jun 23, 2014

Dan W. Quinn sings "More Work for the Undertaker" on Edison Gold Moulded Record 7669.

The song is by Burton, Carney Brookes, and Fred W. Leigh.

Dan W. Quinn was born in San Francisco, perhaps in 1859 since Jim Walsh reports in the December 1961 issue of Hobbies that Quinn was 79 years old when he died.

He was occasionally identified as a baritone but most often as a tenor.

Quinn was a boy soprano in an Episcopal choir and was evidently a vaudeville performer when he was a young man. His photograph is on the cover of sheet music of the 1890s.

He recounted how he began recording in a letter sent to Walsh, who quotes it at length in "Reminiscences of Dan W. Quinn," published in the July 1934 issue of Music Lovers' Guide.

Quinn explained why he was among the most successful recording artists of the 1890s: "It was while working for Vic Emerson [a Columbia executive in the 1890s] that I began to work like a good fellow and went after all the latest songs. I learned everything, whether it naturally suited my style or not. The good singers--I mean fellows like John W. Myers and George Gaskins [sic]--were slow getting up their stuff, and I, being a sight reader, just couldn't keep from learning every new number."

Quinn recorded regularly from 1892 to 1905. He made recordings for the Phonograph Record and Supply Company ("Laboratory, 97, 99 & 101 Reade Street, New York").

Columbia's November 1896 catalog, which lists over 60 Quinn titles, states, "Mr. Quinn's reputation as a vocalist is so well established that the mere announcement of his name is a guarantee of the record."

He was one of Berliner's most important artists, recording nearly a hundred titles. The only singer to cover more titles for the disc company was tenor George J. Gaskin. Perhaps the earliest Quinn discs to be issued were "Girl Wanted" (935), recorded on November 3, 1895, and "Henrietta, Have Your Met Her?" (151), also recorded in November 1895.

An April 1899 catalog issued by the National Gram-o-phone Company, maker of Berliner discs, identifies Quinn as "The King of Comic Singers."

Berliners made by Quinn featuring show tunes include a "popular Hebrew dialect song" (as the National Gram-o-phone catalog characterizes it) titled "Ikey Eisenstein," from the show An American Beauty (1737--it was also recorded as Edison 1039) and, from the show Hurly Burly, "Little Old New York Is Good Enough For Me" (030), recorded on April 4, 1899.

In contrast to singers who recorded standards, Quinn as a Berliner artist covered new songs, nearly all of them quickly forgotten, few being recorded by other artists. They include "Down in Poverty Row" (Berliner 161), "I've Been Hoodoed" (198), "The Irish Cake Walk" (1822), and "Then Pour Us A Drink Bartender" (1600), recorded on November 11, 1896. Songs recorded by Quinn that were genuine hits of the day, as evident by the variety of singers who recorded them, include "The Belle of Avenoo [sic] A" (184) and Dresser's "Just Tell Them That You Saw Me" (189). Quinn confirms in his letter to Walsh that he recorded mostly topical numbers though he wished to sing more hymns: "I made my living in the frivolous field, but my heart was in the other."

He estimated cutting some 2,500 titles during his more than 20 years of recording experience. He listed for Walsh some companies that issued his records: "During my active days I recorded for practically all American companies: Edison, Victor, Columbia, United States, New Jersey, Chicago, Ohio, Boston, Gramophone, Gennett, Leeds-Catlin, and a number of others."

Columbia moved its headquarters to New York City in 1897. An 1899 cylinder catalog duplicates an agreement dated May 1, 1898, establishing that Quinn, along with more than a dozen others, was exclusive to Columbia. The arrangement lasted a year. His last session for Berliner, before his exclusive contract with Columbia began, was on March 31, 1898. He next recorded for Berliner on April 4, 1899.

Quinn usually worked as a solo artist.

He was among the few artists who recorded for Eldridge R. Johnson's talking machine and disc company when it was briefly known as the Consolidated Talking Machine Company (it was later the Victor Talking Machine Company).

During most of his recording career, Quinn was a free-lance artist, singing for practically all American companies. He made a few records in 1906 and then retired for a time. He continued to perform in vaudeville and operated a theatrical booking agency almost to the day of his death. In "Reminiscences of Dan W. Quinn," Walsh gives the address as 312 West 20th Street, New York City.

Though nearly 60, he attempted in 1915 a recording comeback, beginning with a Columbia session on September 23, 1915.

The singer died on November 7, 1938, of intestinal cancer in his home at 312 West 20th Street, New York City."

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ADDENDUM
Click http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=84511#2469827 for a Mudcat Cafe comment that I wrote in 2008 about my theory that "More Work For The Undertaker" includes (borrowed) several elements of the "Bang Bang Lulu" song.

Also, http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=21520&messages=29#2469775 click for a comment that I wrote on Mudcat Cafe in 200 8about the etymology of the name "Sambo" in various African languages.

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Thanks to all those who I quoted in this post. Thanks also to the publisher of that sound file on YouTube.

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Visitor comments are welcome.

Stereotypical References To American Indians In "I Went To A Chinese Restaurant" Rhymes

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post is a continuation of this earlier post that I published about the performance of stereotypical motions while chanting versions of the contemporary English language playground rhyme "I Went To A Chinese Restaurant":
http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/07/anti-asian-rhymes-i-went-to-chinese.html.

I wrote an addendum to that post about the inclusion of problematic references to American Indians in some of those playground rhymes. Here's an expanded version of those comments:

In some examples of "I Went To A Chinese Restaurant" the Chinese and Japanese referents are followed by "Indian chief". My sense is "Indian chief" is a referent to American Indians and not South Asian Indians. It's my position that the phrase "Indian chief" is also problematic since only the leaders of Indians and Africans are referred to as "chiefs". Other ethnic groups have kings, emperors, and leaders. Think about it.
Isn't that dismmissive of those populations to only refer to their leaders as "chiefs"?

While references to American Indians in some examples of "I Went To A Chinese Restaurant" aren't as glaringly stereotypical
as names such as "Ching Ching Charlie" used as referents for Asian people or the use of "squinty eye" motion to mimic the eye shape that some Asian people have, I still consider referents such as "Indian chief" to be problematic. "Indian chief" has become so familiar to English speaking people as a result of its inclusion in the very old "Tinker Tailor" or "Rich man, poor man, beggerman, thief, doctor, lawyer, Indian chief rhyme, not to mention Hollywood movies & television Westerns, that we don't give that referent much thought. However, I recall when I was a child that when that "Rich man/poor man" rhyme was chanted as a way of predicting who we would marry, "Indian chief" was considered to be just as bad a mate as "poor man" and "beggerman".

Also not as glaring but still problematic in a number of "I Went To A Chinese Restaurant" rhymes is the use of "Woo" and "How" to represent the way that American Indians talk. Furthermore, in my opinion, allusions to the stoic Indian image (who stands silently without moving with his or her arms crossed) are problematic in that they reflect and reinforce a fake, one dimensional image of American Indians.

http://www.bluecorncomics.com/stbasics.htm "The Basic Indian Stereotypes" debunks the use of the referent "Indian chief" to refer to leaders of American Indian populations:
"As James W. Loewen writes in his book Lies Across America, "Indeed, most American Indian 'chiefs' were never chiefs. Europeans projected chiefdom onto Native Americans because they
could not easily conceive of people living in a civil society without permanent formal rank. Also, making a 'chief' of a respected Native (and sometimes any Native who happened to be handy) gave a European leader an opposite with whom to deal—someone who could sell land, for instance....
-snip-
That article also includes comments debunking the Hollywood image of the American Indian war whoop.

*I'm using "American Indian" instead of "Native American", "First Nation", or any other general referent for this population. No disrespect is intended.

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TEXT EXAMPLES
Examples of ""I Went To A Chinese Restaurant" that include what I consider to be problematic references to American Indians:
Example #1:
I went to a chinise restaurant,
To get a loaf of bread-bread-bread!
They wrapped it up in a five pound note,
and this is what they said-said-said!
My name is...
Hi-low gigalo
Gigalo hi-low
Willy Willy Wonkas
You've gone bonkers
The indian chief said
HOW!
-Anonymous (Darlington, UK), http://www.topix.com/forum/who/johnny-depp/TI2G2O7A8L4CVJ8S6, Aug 25, 2008

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Example #2:
I went to a Chinese restaurant to buy a loaf of bread bread bread
The waiter asked my name and this is what I said said said:
My name is Eli Eli
I know karate
Punch in the body Oops! I'm sorry
Don't Tell my Mommy
Chinese
Japanese
Indian Chief!
-Pete (Walpole, MA), http://www.topix.com/forum/who/johnny-depp/TI2G2O7A8L4CVJ8S6, Dec 7, 2008

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Example #3:
We did "I went to a chinese restaurant to buy a loaf of bread-bread-bread.
She asked me what my name was and this is what I said-said-said. My...Name.. Is...
Ell-eye, Ell-eye, Chickle-eye,Chickle-eye,
pom-pom beauty, extra cutie
Indian chief stand still"

At the end you cross your arms and the first one to blink/move loses.
-Codi Berry, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wL_3pqqpxA, 2013
-snip-
Click http://www.hcn.org/issues/200/10426/print_view "The myth of the wooden Indian" for comments about the stereotype of the stoic Indian.

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Example #4:
I went to a Chinese restaurant to buy a loaf of bread bread bread, they wrapped it up in a five pound note, and this is what they said said said
My name is eli eli
chikali chikali
pom pom pooly
wally wally whiskey
chinese chopsticks
indians chiefs go woo woo woo woo woo
HOW!
-Simmy (Woodford Green, UK),http://www.topix.com/forum/who/johnny-depp/TI2G2O7A8L4CVJ8S6/p2

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Example #5
So cool how there are so many different versions posted.
Mine is:
I went to Chinese restaurant to buy a loaf of bread bread bread.
They asked me what my name was and this is what I said said said:
My name is L-I L-I pickali pickali pom pom beauty walla walla whiskey chinese japanese indiana CHIEF!

And when you said CHIEF! you shouted and crossed your arms over your chest...the first one to move, laugh or blink lost and everyone would just die laughing. So much fun when were little... :]
-JennxRIOT,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wL_3pqqpxA, 2010

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EDITORIAL COMMENT
I believe that the stereotypical content in playground rhymes should be documented for the folkloric record, and also for the purpose of encouraging people interested in an eradicating stereotypes to the presence of this content.

In spite of children's attachment to the version of a rhyme that they first learned, given the large number of non-stereotypical versions of "I Went To The Chinese Restaurant, I believe that children can be complimented for their creativity but still be redirected to alternative, non-stereotypical examples of that rhyme. It's up to adults to educate the children in their care that the words and/or accompanying actions of these & some other playground rhymes are problematic and hurtful.

The children's rhyme "Eenie Meenie Miney Mo" stands as a strong testimony to the fact that offensive references can be completely excised from playground rhymes, as many adults today who grew up with that rhyme and are surprised to learn that it once included a pejorative reference for Black people.

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RELATED LINKS
This post is intended as a companion post to these other pancocojams posts that examine the role of race and/or stereotypes in contemporary English language playground rhymes: http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/07/examples-of-anti-asian-references-in.html "Examples Of Anti-Asian References In Children's Playground Rhymes" and http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/01/racialized-versions-of-i-like-coffee-i.html "Racialized Versions Of "I Like Coffee I Like Tea"

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

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