Eyes of Texas
In 1903, the student John Lang Sinclair wrote “The Eyes of Texas” song. Decades later, it became the song of the University of Texas, one of the most beloved songs in the state.
However, since 1929, for 95 years, there have been conflicts and questions about how the song originated.
In 2020, an official UT Report claimed that the song was not written for the 1903 minstrel show in which UT students mocked Black people by painting their faces black. And allegedly, its origin was not linked to words by Confederate General Robert E. Lee.
However, by finding primary sources I proved that the song was written for the blackface minstrel show, based on wartime words about General Lee. The author himself, John Lang Sinclair, and other witnesses admitted that the song was written for the minstrel show of 1903.
Moreover, I proved that the song’s title and chorus were based on words by and about General Lee in the Civil War. Sinclair stated that the song was not meant to be a university hymn, contrary to the whitewash of a fellow alumnus who he wanted to sue for lying about it.
True history of the song
“True Origins of ‘The Eyes of Texas’”
Medium, March 24, 2021.
https://almartinezut.medium.com/true-origins-of-the-eyes-of-texas-3f2188569f0e
“Whitewashing The Eyes of Texas”
Medium, September 23, 2021.
https://almartinezut.medium.com/whitewashing-the-eyes-of-texas-59d6b279ad7b
“100 Problems in ‘The Eyes of Texas’”
Medium, May 1, 2021.
https://almartinezut.medium.com/100-problems-in-the-eyes-of-texas-10959642e535
“NAACP Title VI Complaint on The Eyes of Texas”
by Gary Bledsoe, Robert Notzon, Alberto Martinez, filed at the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights, September 2, 2021, 22 pages.
“The Eyes of Texas IS Racist; with Dr. Alberto Martinez”
The Jeff Ward Show, Hot Pie Media, September 10, 2021.
https://hotpiemedia.com/podcast/the-jeff-ward-show/
“UT Professor Releases Independent Report Countering the Eyes of Texas History Committee” Dominique Lavigne, Reporting Texas TV, April 1, 2021.
“Why Don’t the Eyes of Texas See?”
CNS Center for Social Change, UT Austin, June 28, 2021.
https://utexas.zoom.us/j/97377616564
“Hispanic Faculty in the Eyes of Texas,”
Texas Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education,
Texas Tech University School of Law, Lubbock, May 28, 2021.
“The Eyes of Texas: 1903-2021”
The Orange Jackets, UT Austin, April 29, 2021.
“Discussion on the song The Eyes of Texas”
video: Russell Falcon, Alyssa Goard, “NAACP, UT Austin Students, Alumni Groups Denounce Use of ‘Eyes of Texas’ and Demand Its Retirement,” KXAN.com, March 29, 2021: https://www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/naacp-ut-austin-students-alumni-groups-denounce-use-of-eyes-of-texas/
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BIO
Alberto Martinez is originally from San Juan, Puerto Rico. As a professor at UT Austin, he investigates the history of science, especially Einstein and relativity theory, history of math, historical myths, and Giordano Bruno and Galileo. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society.
He also researches myths in political news media, The Eyes of Texas, and episodes in the history of money and corruption.
Now, he's finishing writing a novel about Albert Einstein.