The University of Texas caught heat last fall, when people finally began to criticize their fight song at sports games, “The Eyes Of Texas.” This was researched by many critics, and was found to have had ties to Confederate General Robert E. Lee.
According to the Texas Tribune, school president President Jay Hartzell hired a committee, led by Brad Deutser, to fix the image of this song. He was paid $1.1 million to make this happen. This committee includes 24 Texas athletes, historians, professors and students who would investigate and “chronicle the full history of ‘The Eyes’ and recommend ways we can openly acknowledge, share and learn from it.”
In addition to “revamping” this song, broader organizational projects are included, such as a new communication and engagement strategy for the university, and defining “what it means to be a Longhorn.” The committee ended up reporting that The Eyes Of Texas” was “not overtly racist” and couldn’t find ties to Robert E. Lee.
“Brad Deutser relentlessly supported our work by interviewing hundreds of members of Longhorn Nation, participating in our committee work, and orchestrating many of the products of the committee such as the videos — a truly dedicated Longhorn,” said UT-Austin professor and committee co-chair Richard Reddick in a letter, with this report.
Flip the page for racist origins of the song.