Eenie Meenie Miney
Warning: We are talking about racism in this article. There is some offensive language below. A little over a week ago, on the the racist beginnings of the ice cream truck song. The song's melody, it turns out, was popularized in antebellum minstrel shows where the lyrics 'parodied a free black man attempting to conform to white high society by dressing in fine clothes and using big words.'
Eenie Meenie Miney Mo In French
Such is the case when I watched the oddly titled Eenie, Meenie, Miney, Moe—a film thoroughly soaked in nastiness. Some might enjoy the film because it is very stylish and exciting, though I was very turned off because it glamorizes the thug lifestyle (at least until the end of the film).
To make matters worse, that song became the basis for an offensive folk song in 1916 titled, 'Nigger Love A Watermelon Ha! Before turning into the melody that beckons ice cream seekers today. For Theodore Johnson III, who wrote the article, knowledge of that history ruined ice cream trucks for him.
' When the reach of racism robs me of fond memories from my childhood, it feels intensely personal again. Whenever I hear the music now, the antique voice laughing about niggers and watermelon fills my head,' Johnson wrote. Johnson's piece got us thinking about the songs like the ice cream truck song — a seemingly innocuous folk song, nursery rhyme, or jingle — that we may not have known were racist, and what we should do when we learn about their histories. 'Eenie, Meenie, Miney, Mo' () The words: ' Eenie, meenie, minie mo. Catch an nigger by the toe. If he hollers, let him go.