Texas players push for changes to campus, school song to be more racially inclusive
Texas Longhorns football players are requesting the removal of "The Eyes of Texas" as the school song and changes to names of campus buildings in an effort to make the Austin campus more inclusive to the black community.
Without these changes, players said they would practice and participate in team activities but "will not be participating in the recruitment of incoming players or other alumni events."
"The recent events across the country regarding racial injustice have brought to light the systemic racism that has always been prevalent in our country as well as the racism that has historically plagued our campus," the players said in a statement, which was shared by several students on social media.
Among their requests are the renaming of four campus buildings that are named after Confederate or racist figures; more diverse statues by people of color; a permanent black athletic history in the school's Athletics Hall of Honor; and the renaming of part of Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium after Julius Whittier, the Longhorns' first black player.
One of the players who shared the statement was wide receiver Brennan Eagles, who had tweeted on June 3 that he was "not going to play another snap knowing what's going on in our society due to color and the system being broken. Let's look at the bigger picture."
Eagles did not say anything further on the matter until Friday's statement.
"I am always willing to have meaningful conversations regarding any concerns our student-athletes have," Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte said in a statement. "We will do the same in this situation and look forward to having those discussions."
"The Eyes of Texas," which is played before and after every Longhorns football game, has come under scrutiny in recent years because it was first performed in a minstrel show, which featured blackface performances, in 1903.
According to the Texas State Historical Association, the University of Texas board of regents reaffirmed "The Eyes of Texas" as the university's official song to celebrate the 100th anniversary of its first performance. It was performed by the Longhorn Marching Band at the funerals of Royal, the coach for whom Texas' stadium is named, and former first lady Lady Bird Johnson. A copy of the original lyrics was taken to the moon in 1969 by university alumnus Alan L. Bean.
Leslie Blair, executive director of communications for the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement, told The Daily Texan last year that the school understands the concern with the song.
"We don't want to forget the history of it," Blair said. "It's important to keep it alive. The University is aware of its past, of course, and we try to acknowledge it and hopefully offset it a little bit."
The players requested the renaming of Robert Lee Moore Hall, Painter Hall, Littlefield Hall and the James Hogg Auditorium, along with the removal of a statue of Hogg, which had been removed from the university's south mall in August 2017 before being reinstalled in December 2018.
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