WEBVTT - 120223 Way Black History Fact - The Racist Roots of Jingle Bells

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<v Speaker 1>It's time for the way Black History Fact. So today's

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<v Speaker 1>way Black History Fact is sponsored by Underground Beach Club.

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<v Speaker 1>From the streets to the beach to the latest new

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<v Speaker 1>beach where visit Underground Beach Club dot com. Today I'm

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<v Speaker 1>gonna share a bit with you from The Guardian. It's

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<v Speaker 1>the holiday season. Is jingle bells racist? Let's find out

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<v Speaker 1>kind of? Hammel aimed, sorry to shed light on a

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<v Speaker 1>long hidden history detailing racist origins of popular Christmas carol. Instead,

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<v Speaker 1>the university lecturer ended up the target of a right

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<v Speaker 1>wing trolling attack after her academic research on jingle bells

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<v Speaker 1>was twisted into an example of liberal overreach. Hatefield emails

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<v Speaker 1>flooded her inbox. Hammel, of Boston University told The Guardian quote,

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<v Speaker 1>I was told that I was trying to ruin Christmas

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<v Speaker 1>for children who weren't allowed to sing the song anymore,

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<v Speaker 1>and that I was ruining the jingle bell festival in

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<v Speaker 1>our town. Notice they attached children to it to make

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<v Speaker 1>it a little bit more. I get it. Hamil had

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<v Speaker 1>probed the origins of the popular carol, hoping to settle

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<v Speaker 1>a friendly rivalry between Medford, Massachusetts and Savannah, Georgia over

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<v Speaker 1>where Jingle Bells was written. About two years ago, she

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<v Speaker 1>stumbled across a rather different story. The song, initially known

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<v Speaker 1>as one Horse Open Sleigh, was first performed in blackface

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<v Speaker 1>in a minstrel show in Boston in September eighteen fifty seven.

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<v Speaker 1>She discovered for those that don't know, oh, actually, that's

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<v Speaker 1>right here. Hamill published the findings in a peer reviewed

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<v Speaker 1>paper in September, noting that during the past one hundred

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<v Speaker 1>and sixty years, the song had become an example of

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<v Speaker 1>music whose quote, blackface and racist origins have been subtly

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<v Speaker 1>and systematically removed from its history. The song was written

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<v Speaker 1>by James Pierpoint, who badly needed work After failing at

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<v Speaker 1>several other professional ventures. Pierpoint capitalized on menstrual music and

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<v Speaker 1>entered upon a safeground for Saturday Rising Black participation in

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<v Speaker 1>northern winter activities. Last year, she detailed her findings to

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<v Speaker 1>local media, yielding a front page story in the Boston

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<v Speaker 1>Globe and no backlash. This year, however, was a different story.

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<v Speaker 1>Quote newest Christmas controversy has social justice warriors claiming this

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<v Speaker 1>classic holiday carol is racist unquote, a Fox News host

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<v Speaker 1>told viewers earlier this month, Breitbart warned that Hamil was

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<v Speaker 1>urging people to shun the jahn t tone. Hamil said

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<v Speaker 1>much reporting of her research was incorrect and laden with

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<v Speaker 1>all sorts of absolutely absurd accusations. Quote. It was obviously

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<v Speaker 1>an easy way to bait and politicize Christmas, she said,

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<v Speaker 1>which seems to be what extreme political outlets want to do.

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<v Speaker 1>She had never said the jingle Bells was now racist,

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<v Speaker 1>nor had she sought to discourage people from singing the tune,

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<v Speaker 1>she pointed out. Still, the backlash was fierce. Her name

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<v Speaker 1>soon became a hashtag on Twitter, backing up tweets as

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<v Speaker 1>users learned of her findings. Hundreds of hate laced emails

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<v Speaker 1>filled her inbox. Others tried to reach her by phone

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<v Speaker 1>or through social media. She replied to a few of

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<v Speaker 1>the emails, at times receiving an apology quote despite the

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<v Speaker 1>fact that a lot of the hate mail was really horrible.

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<v Speaker 1>People just want to communicate and they're stuck in this

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<v Speaker 1>echo chamber, she said. She goes on to say, so,

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<v Speaker 1>I think people just want to be heard, and nobody

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<v Speaker 1>seems to be listening anymore. Ironically, the controversy has sent

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<v Speaker 1>interest in her research on jingle bell soaring, placing it

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<v Speaker 1>currently among the most read articles on Cambridge University Press Quote.

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<v Speaker 1>If anything, this irresponsible reporting has drawn more attention to

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<v Speaker 1>an academic article that would usually just sit in a

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<v Speaker 1>journal that very few would read. So the fact that

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<v Speaker 1>it was academic in peer reviews means that it's valid.

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<v Speaker 1>And for those that don't know, menstrual shows are very

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<v Speaker 1>racist forms of entertainment in the early nineteen rounders of

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<v Speaker 1>late eighteen hundreds, So there's your way, Black history fact