The Philadelphia Flyers, a hockey team, announced on April 21 that it had removed a statue of Kate Smith, a famed singer who performed the most popular rendition of “God Bless America.”
The team noted the late singer’s accomplishments but said that recent uproar over lyrics in several of her songs prompted officials to decide to remove the statue.
“The Flyers have enjoyed a long and popular relationship with ‘God Bless America,’ as performed by the late Kate Smith, a woman who was awarded the Presidential Medal of Honor for her patriotic contributions to our nation. But in recent days, we learned that several of the songs Kate Smith performed in the 1930s include lyrics and sentiments that are incompatible with the values of our organization, and evoke painful and unacceptable themes,” the team said in a statement.
“While Kate Smith’s performance of ‘God Bless America’ cannot be erased from its place in Flyers history, that rendition will no longer be featured in our game presentations. And to ensure the sentiments stirred this week are no longer echoed, earlier today we completed the removal of the Kate Smith statue from its former location outside of our arena.”
Paul Holmgren, president of the Flyers, said that team officials decided they had to do something.
“The NHL principle ‘Hockey is for Everyone’ is at the heart of everything the Flyers stand for,” he said. “As a result, we cannot stand idle while material from another era gets in the way of who we are today.”
Neither the team nor Holmgren disclosed how officials were made aware of the lyrics.
The Kate Smith statue was erected in 1987 outside the Flyers’ former stadium and moved to its new stadium around 2011.
Flyers removed the Kate Smith Statue
Paul Holmgren:
“The NHL principle ‘Hockey is for Everyone’ is at the heart of everything the Flyers stand for. As a result, we cannot stand idle while material from another era gets in the way of who we are today.”@6abc#KateSmith pic.twitter.com/aiU8VfHR99— Jeff Skversky 6abc (@JeffSkversky) April 21, 2019
“God Bless America” played a big role in the team’s history, with Smith herself singing the song at the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals in Philadelphia in 2010.
The team covered up the Smith statue last week with thick black cloth held in place with rope.
The team’s decision followed that by the New York Yankees, a baseball team, to stop playing “God Bless America” at games.
Smith, who passed away at age 79 in 1986, was a major singer and radio star who appeared on a number of programs across the major networks and released dozens of successful recordings from the 1930s to the 1960s, including a number of songs that were popular nationwide. Her legendary status culminated in a Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1982, bestowed by then-President Ronald Reagan.
An @NHLFlyers season ticket holder expressing his unhappiness that the team has covered the Kate Smith statue which was first displayed outside the Spectrum in 1987. pic.twitter.com/5FvDAWrNSL
— Cleve Bryan CBS3 (@CleveBryan) April 19, 2019
“Her splendid voice alone has earned her a place in the history books, but it’s also won her a place in our hearts, because of the extra something that reaches out to the spirit as well as to the ear of the listener,” Reagan said at the ceremony. He said her voice was one of the most inspiring things heard by troops during World War II and other wars.
Smith’s 1931 song “That’s Why Darkies Were Born” was at the heart of the current controversy. In the song, 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.”
According to the right-leaning Washington Examiner, the lyrics are racist but the song may have been satirical.
“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,” wrote columnist Madeline Fry.
“If ‘That’s Why Darkies Were Born,’ isn’t satire, the lyrics are inexcusable. As satire, it’s scathing, progressive commentary,” Fry added.
Clay Travis, a sports columnist, also slammed the decision.
Kate Smith raised $600 million during World War II to help defeat Hitler’s Germany. This week the Yankees & Flyers banned her singing of “God Bless America” & the Flyers covered up her statue. This controversy is patently absurd. Read & share this: https://t.co/2h5HXD6Pzb
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) April 20, 2019
At least one other song, “Pickaninny Heaven,” was cited by critics who said Smith was racist.
Smith’s family responded on Sunday after the Flyers removed the statue, criticizing the team for the move.
“I’m appalled,” Suzy Andron, Smith’s niece, told CBS Philadelphia.
“Aunt Katherine was probably one of the kindest people I’ve ever met,” Andron added. “She was certainly anything but a prejudiced person. She loved everybody.”
Andron said that neither Smith nor her songs were racist and said the Flyers reacted too quickly.
“I think you need to go back and look back at your own history and what Aunt Katherine gave to that team,” she said.
