海角大神

The University of Mississippi will drop one of the most beloved southern anthems, 鈥淒ixie,鈥� from its marching band program, due to the historical context of the song, the school鈥檚 athletics department announced on Friday.

Written by a New Yorker, 鈥淒ixie鈥� became popular as secessionists sought a new anthem to represent their cause. The University of Mississippi, affectionately known as Ole Miss, made the decision to abandon the song this year as it seeks to create a more welcoming environment for all of its students.

鈥淭he Athletics Department asked [the marching band] to create a new and modern pregame show that does not include Dixie and is more inclusive for all fans,鈥澛爏aid Ole Miss Athletic Director Ross Bjork in a statement.

First composed as part of a minstrel show by New York composer Daniel Decatur Emmett in 1859, Dixie was played at Confederate president Jefferson Davis鈥檚 inauguration in 1860 and dubbed the 鈥淣ational Anthem of Secession鈥� by the Richmond Dispatch. When Ole Miss played it at their games, according to author Stuart Stevens, it conjured up the ghost of the Confederacy.

Ole Miss鈥檚 decision to jettison this vestige of the Civil War South is no real surprise. The university has been working to remove Confederate symbols for years 鈥撀犫�淒ixie鈥� has been on the chopping block for at least a year, but the decision to finally remove had been postponed due to logistics.

"We felt that it鈥檚 the right thing to do. It鈥檚 time to move forward," Mr. Bjork told Mississippi Today. "It fits in with where the university has gone in terms of making sure we follow our creed, core values of the athletic department, and that all people feel welcome."

Previous university chancellors have made a concerted effort to abandon other symbols of the Confederacy. In 1997, former Chancellor Robert Khayat banned sticks from the football stadium in attempt to keep Confederate flags out. Then, in 2003, Ole Miss ditched 鈥淐olonel Rebel,鈥� an old Confederate soldier character who served as the school鈥檚 mascot. The current Ole Miss mascot is the black bear, but the team is still known as the Rebels.

In 2009, another former Chancellor, Dan Jones, also asked the band to remove a song from its play list. The marching band agreed to stop playing 鈥淔rom Dixie with Love,鈥� a mashup between "Dixie" and "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," as it often prompted fans to chant 鈥渢he South will rise again.鈥�

According to local newspaper the Oxford Eagle, current chancellor Jeffrey Vitter has also established the Chancellor鈥檚 Advisory Committee for History and Contextualization, which handles discussions regarding the school鈥檚 remaining monuments and symbols with ties to the Confederacy.

鈥淭he initial goal will be to recommend which Oxford campus sites should be contextualized, so as to explain the environment in which they were created or named,鈥� Mr. Vitter told the Oxford Eagle. 鈥淭he committee will then be charged with designing content and format to contextualize the designated sites.鈥�

Many have responded positively to the school鈥檚 decision to make a change.

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 a step in the right direction of the culture shift that I think is very necessary at the University of Mississippi,鈥� said Dominique Scott, treasurer of the NAACP chapter at Ole Miss, to the Clarion-Ledger. 鈥淔or where the university is trying to go, to create an inclusive culture and a culture that welcomes students from all backgrounds and walks of life.鈥�

Despite its deep Southern roots, Ole Miss is gaining a reputation for eschewing racially charged and divisive symbols, a move that several universities and public officials have welcomed since the racially motivated shooting at Charleston's Emanuel AME church last June.

Not only have the Confederate flag and its various incarnations been under attack since last June, 海角大神 reports, but so have statues and buildings named after Confederate leaders.

Ole Miss鈥檚 home state of Mississippi, however, remains the last holdout in the effort to remove vestiges of the Confederate battle flag from state flag designs.