Senator 'On Very Good Path' To Replace State Song

By GRETCHEN PARKER and JEROME R. STOCKFISCH The Tampa Tribune

Published: Feb 21, 2007

Gov. Charlie Crist, concerned about lyrics of the state song that are widely viewed as racist, is inviting proposals from a legislative leader to replace it.

Sen. Anthony Hill, D-Jacksonville, who leads the Legislature's Black Caucus, met with Crist on Tuesday and encouraged him to support efforts to find a new, modern state song that doesn't embarrass and offend Florida's minority citizens.

Crist nixed "Old Folks at Home" from his swearing-in ceremony last month because of the song's references to "darkeys" and its ode to plantation life.

"Obviously it concerned me enough not to have it played at the inauguration," Crist told The Tampa Tribune after the private meeting. "So I think the senator is on a very good path."

The song, known as "Way Down Upon the Swanee River," was written in 1851 by Pennsylvanian Stephen Foster for performance in minstrel shows. In 1935, Florida adopted it as its official state song.

But Crist has reservations about it. "I don't think it respects all of our citizens as much as it should," he said. The Republican governor didn't give specifics about how the song might be substituted.

"There may be a number of ways that can be accomplished, and I look forward to working with the senator on that," Crist said.

Hill, as a state House member 10 years ago, supported legislation that ultimately failed that would have cut "Old Folks at Home." He decided to press the issue again after reading a Tribune report that Crist abandoned the song in his induction ceremony.

The governor's exclusion was tantamount to a public statement against the song, Hill felt.

Hill would like to see a nonlegislative committee come up with substitutes. He's looking to states such as Virginia as an example, where lawmakers retired "Carry Me Back to Old Virginia" 10 years ago. A replacement for Florida's anthem likely would need lawmakers' approval.

"We want this to be a positive, not to divide us," Hill said, recalling the emotional debate over state song legislation offered by former Rep. Willie Logan in 1997. Lawmakers who represented the Suwanee River area resisted the change.

Hill may get the boost he needs from Crist, who as attorney general was recognized for his efforts to enforce civil rights. Tuesday night, in a program commemorating black history month in the state Capitol, Crist brought up his successful suit against a motel owner accused of discriminating against black guests.

"The times have changed. Florida has changed," Hill said in making a case for replacing the state song. "We're a composite of different cultures, different heritages. We're a diverse state."

Reporter Gretchen Parker can be reached at (813) 259-7562. Reporter Jerome R. Stockfisch can be reached at (850) 222-8382.