Here in the UK, speech isn’t entirely free. The right to offend whomever we want isn’t enshrined in statute, as in the US Constitution. We have hate speech laws to protect people from language designed to distress. I think it’s a good idea—although there is the potential for its abuse. So I was intrigued to see on social media a collaborative list of tunes which, its compilers believe, should be purged from swing dance events worldwide.
The list emerges as the global community audits its own inclusivity. Titled “Songs You Need to Think About,” it features rarely-heards and dance staples. Contributors argue for their elimination with reasons and references. Some, no compassionate dancer would ever miss—like “That’s Why Darkies Were Born,” or “Chong (He Come from Hong Kong).” But would-be censors might have a harder time ousting others—favorites like Louis Prima’s “I Wanna Be Like You.”
The list’s originator is Nalla Kim, a dance teacher based in South Korea. He bravely admits planning a blackface performance to “honor” dance pioneer Frankie Manning, until someone clued him up. “
Although I’ve taught Afro-American dance for a decade, I still don’t know the history perfectly,” he told me. “I noticed that many Am
