We all have been in love with the ice cream song throughout our childhood.
We not only cherished it but also passed it over to our generations. Some children these days also sing it as a part of nursery school songs. But the fact of the matter is, it is a racist song, unlike other kids songs.
It is 2020 and we now need to realize that there is no more room for racist songs. As this ice cream song, there are so many kids songs and nursery school songs that are pretty racist. Why are we professing it? Let’s start exposing!
The Background of Racist Icecream Song
So originally it is a traditionally British song and they called it ‘The Old Rose Tree”. Irish and Scottish immigrants introduced this song in the British colonies in 1700. People over there renamed it as ‘Turkey In The Straw”.
But the icecream song was changed into a racist song in 1820 when they added Zip Coon in it. The Zip Coon was a minstrel character that mocked the black men. Although, white people played this character with a black mask on their faces. But they basically manifested how dimwitted and unsophisticated black people are.
Also, read how the public is attacking the NBA for supporting systemic racism
The disturbing lyrics of these kids songs
So the lyrics of this icecream song and one of the most controversial kids song are pretty disturbing. It goes something around like this.
“O ole Zip Coon he is a larned skoler,
Posum up a gum tree, coonny on a stump,
Den over dubble trubble, Zip coon will jump”
No one so far knows who wrote the lyrics. But Disney surely got inspired and they created their famous song ‘Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah.” Thomas Birch in 1834 and George Washington Dixon in 1835 published the song.
“The colored man’s ice cream: Watermelon!”
The icecream song surely has more racist lyrics to offer. The ice cream truck used to play this song and call the icecream as ‘colored peoples’ ice cream”. White people served it and they tempted black men to play dominos to leave the game and come get ice cream.
There were also Coon cards with black peoples’ faces on them. They used to play it and make fun of it. The lyrics of this icecream song and now nursery school songs have a twist. It says “Ni**er Love a Watermelon Ha! Ha! Ha!.”
What happened after WWII?
So after World War II, black people moved to cities and suburbs. And the ice cream parlors’ business went down with this. They thought of a new idea to allure black children into their ice cream business.
They sent ice cream trucks to grab their attention which is not wrong. But what’s disturbing is the melodies they played on these trucks. The icecream song played on these trucks had deplorable lyrics. Check out these lyrics yourself.
” Ni**er love a watermelon ha ha, ha ha!
Ni**er love a watermelon ha ha, ha ha!
For here, they’re made with a half a pound of co’l”
Will you still pass on this song to your children?
Now, after knowing the upsetting history of the icecream song, will you pass on this melody to your children? The question more important right now is not why did history does it? But, till how long will this go?
It’s already the end of 2020, but will racism end with it? Or will the new year keep up with this disgraceful ‘legacy’? We need to change how we do things and the way we think. With systemic racism so prevalent in the world and black people dying every month. Is there hope and future for black children? Or will this go on and on until the last moments of this planet?