Perspective: Her 'God Bless America' is a classic. Her two racist songs, a scandal. Should Kate Smith be banned from the ballpark?
Kate Smith sings “God Bless America” before a playoff game in Philadelphia on May 13, 1975, between the New York Islanders and the Philadelphia Flyers. By Anne Midgette Anne Midgette Classical music critic Email Bio Follow Classical music critic April 25 Last week, the sports world was thrown into a tizzy about one of the oldest recordings of one of the country’s most beloved songs.
The Kate Smith outside Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia was initially covered before being removed . “There’s no statute of limitations when it comes to racism,” Robinson says. He concedes that “the mind-set of 1931 is not the mind-set of 2019 — at least, not openly.” And yet there must be clear signs that certain things will no longer be tolerated.
It’s one thing to try to get past this by listening to other Smith recordings and coming to terms with what one feels for oneself. It’s another thing to have to deal with it in the ballpark, over a subpar recording — surrounded by thousands of people who are likely to have strong opinions about it one way or another — over and over again.
“I feel strongly that my singing career and the public stage it offers me must also bring with it a sense of responsibility, and a duty to do what is right,” he wrote. “I asked myself whether or not I should sing or stand in silent solidarity. . . . In the end, I decided to use the voice that God has given me to sing . . . with the conflicting emotions that pull at my heart . . . the honor, the pride, the frustration, the sadness.
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