Ole Miss Seeks to Silence ‘Rising South’ Chant

The University of Mississippi has shortened one of its fight songs to discourage football fans from chanting “the South will rise again” during part of the tune, which critics say is an offensive reminder of the region’s intolerant past.

However, some fans have continued to recite the chant at the end of the song, “From Dixie With Love,” despite the change made last week at the chancellor’s request. The Ole Miss band performs the medley before and after games.

Earlier this month, the Ole Miss student government passed a resolution suggesting the chant be replaced by the phrase, “To hell with LSU.”

Dan Jones, who became Ole Miss chancellor in July, said he asked the school’s band director, David Wilson, to modify the song to support the efforts of the Associated Student Body. He said he has received complaints from alumni that the slogan is offensive.

“The fact is, the phrase ‘The South Will Rise Again’ is not part of our tradition or spirit, and it is inconsistent with the university’s values and what Ole Miss stands for–a great public university with a focus on the future,” Jones said in a phone interview Thursday from the campus in Oxford.

The modified version of the song ends abruptly before the chanting phase starts. It was first played Saturday at Ole Miss’s homecoming game against the University of Alabama at Birmingham, but that didn’t stop some fans from chanting.

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The song blends the Confederate Army’s fight song, “Dixie,” with the Union Army’s “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” according to Peter K. Frost, a visiting professor of history and international studies at Ole Miss.

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The university six years ago decided not to have an on-field mascot during sporting events, getting rid of the long-standing Colonel Rebel, a white-haired old man who carries a cane and resembles a plantation owner. At the time, school officials had said they needed a more athletic-looking mascot. The teams are still called the Rebels.

Sophomore Cortez Moss, director of communications for the ASB, said the organization is trying to explain to students why the phrase is offensive.

“You take back on that slave mentality,” said Moss, who is black. “I know the South won’t rise again and the South can’t rise again.”

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