Slow down your Kate Smith condemnations, Yankees and Flyers

On Thursday, the New York Daily News reported that the New York Yankees had decided not to play her 1939 rendition of the patriotic song during the seventh inning, as had been the custom for 18 years.

The crime fits the punishment, if true: Smith has been accused of singing racist songs. The Yankees say they’re still investigating, but they’re putting a hold on her music in the meantime.

“The Yankees have been made aware of a recording that had been previously unknown to us and decided to immediately and carefully review this new information,” a club spokesman told the Daily News. “The Yankees take social, racial and cultural insensitivities very seriously. And while no final conclusions have been made, we are erring on the side of sensitivity.”

The Daily News article mentioned that there’s a statue of Smith outside the Philadelphia Flyers’ arena, and on Friday, the NHL team followed the Yankees’ lead.

“We have recently become aware that several songs performed by Kate Smith contain offensive lyrics that do not reflect our values as an organization,” the Flyers said in a statement. “As we continue to look into this serious matter, we are removing Kate Smith’s recording of ‘God Bless America’ from our library and covering up the statue that stands outside our arena.”

Note that the Yankees have decided to “review this new information” and “no final conclusions have been made.” Likewise, the Flyers “continue to look into” the matter. Both teams dropped Smith’s music, and one even shrouded her statue, before drawing a final conclusion.

At first look, Smith’s other music seems pretty terrible, worth ousting her version of “God Bless America.” In “Pickaninny Heaven,” which she sang to black children at an orphanage, she tells the children to dream of “great big watermelons.” Speaking of offensive stereotypes, Smith also appears in a comic promoting the “mammy” archetype, apparently as an advertisement for her cookbook.

You could say at least she’s singing to orphans and she respects this woman’s cooking, but there seems to be no getting around the lyrics of “That’s Why Darkies Were Born.” In it, she sings, “Someone had to pick the cotton / Someone had to pick the corn / Someone had to slave and be able to sing / That’s why darkies were born.”

Pure racist bull.

Yet, the song was likely satire. “That’s Why Darkies Were Born” was first performed in 1931 through “George White’s Scandals,” a series of Broadway revues. Reports say the song was considered to be satire, and revues are known as a collection of sketches with typically satirical themes. Singer Paul Robeson, who was black, also performed the song. If “That’s Why Darkies Were Born,” isn’t satire, the lyrics are inexcusable. As satire, it’s scathing, progressive commentary.

Just like Californians shouldn’t rename John Wayne Airport in response to backlash over a rediscovered interview, the Yankees and the Flyers shouldn’t be so quick to denounce Smith, even going so far as covering her statue with a cloth as if even the sight of her might spread malice.

Sports teams should be able to reconsider which artists they support as times evolve and new information arises. But they should not immediately denounce a long-dead singer before gathering all of their information.

Smith, a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, was a favorite of both former Presidents Ronald Reagan and Franklin Roosevelt. She’s best known for her rendition of “God Bless America,” which sports stadiums across the U.S. have played for years. So in re-evaluating her place in American life, people shouldn’t rush to judgment.

We are allowed to look back on history. We’re not allowed to rewrite it.