The Civil War-era song "Dixie" — considered the musical anthem of the Confederacy — has been banned from being played at football games at the University of Mississippi.
The tune, considered today to be sympathetic to slavery, had been played by the school's marching band since 1948. Its lyrics include the opening lines: "Oh, I wish I was in the land of cotton. Old times there are not forgotten. Look away, look away, look away Dixie Land!"
In announcing the ban, university athletic director Russ Bjork said: "We want everyone who steps foot on campus to feel welcome, and that they're part of the Ole Miss family … We needed to move forward and do the right things."
The Jackson Clarion-Ledger reports the directive is the latest move in the university's effort to move away from symbols of the "Old South."
The school has already banished the Confederate flag, gotten rid of its "Colonel Reb" mascot and stopped the marching band from playing "From Dixie with Love."
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