Origins, legacy of ‘The Eyes of Texas’ examined in history professor’s new book – The Daily Texan

A history professor discussed his new book, which examines the Jim Crow roots of popular University song “The Eyes of Texas,” on Monday as part of the College of Liberal Arts’ History Faculty New Book Series.

Alberto Martínez discussed his new book, “Eyes of Texas: Blackface to Whitewash,” which reexamines the history of the University song. The book explores different interpretations of the song through history and the emotions and controversies surrounding it. 

“If you’ve been to the UT football stadium during a game and seen tens of thousands of people holding up their horns and singing the song, you see that’s something they feel and they believe,” Martínez said. “I’m here to argue against that.”

The University published a report concluding the song likely did not have direct racist intent in 2021. Several digital artifacts on the history of the song have been removed, he said, such as John Sinclair’s letters and UT’s official information page on the song. However, Martínez said that the song originated from a 1903 University minstrel performance.

In 2020, several student groups, including athletes, called for the song’s removal during the Black Lives Matter protests. Martínez said it’s surprising how quickly the campus culture surrounding it has changed.

“Now, there are UT students walking around who know nothing about the controversy in the song,” Martínez said. 

Hannah Lewis, an associate professor of musicology, said the University needs to follow through on its commitments to acknowledge the song’s history and educate its students rather than getting rid of evidence.

“Clearly, the song still strikes a nerve within the UT-Austin community at the same time that awareness of the controversy surrounding it has faded remarkably quickly,” Lewis said. “So, where does that leave us today? Where does and should education around the song take place? How can we properly convey its history in its entirety when, as (Martínez) has shown, it can take a whole book to lay out all of the historical details and context to tell the full story?”