We’ve now reached the stage in life where some “lifelong educator” named Jason Haap has written an opinion piece for the Cincinnati Enquirer where he states that the Bengals “Who Dey” chant has a racial history and, in fact, just might be a racist chant.
I’m not kidding.
That would be the same chant that’s been in the Cincinnati locker room since 1982. It’s the same chant that was turned into a rap song in 1989 as the Bengals were getting ready to play in the Super Bowl.
The belief by the anti-“Who Dey” chant crowd is that “Who dey think gonna beat dem Bengals?” is a line spoken by white people to make fun of black people. Again, I’m not kidding.
The Enquirer published a “Where did Who Dey come from?” story over the weekend and that led Haap to bust out his theory. He wrote:
Look for the d-words: “dey,” “dat,” “dem.” What are they doing in there? The words should actually be “they,” “that,” and “them” (though, admittedly, “Who They” doesn’t quite have the same appeal). Though I studied linguistics and African American literature in college, I’m pretty sure most of us need no background in either of those things to see the relationship here: dey, dat, and dem are versions of they, that, and them typically found in Black English, or Gullah, or Creole English, or Ebonics, or any number of English dialects tracing their roots back to African language. Our beloved chant imitates Black English.
…
But is it appropriate for a stadium filled with mostly white people (some of whom consume lots of alcohol and paint their bodies black and orange) to chant “Who Dey”?
Before I go any further, you need to know that Haap is also a longtime Cincinnati “activist” who has been a candidate for the Cincinnati school board and used to run a liberal site called the Cincinnati Beacon, which, ironically, raised this whole racist “Who Dey” subject going back to 2010. The Beacon no longer exists online so now we’re stuck with Haap’s rehash on the Enquirer.
This didn’t just arise for Haap. He’s been on this rant for years.
Jason opines that the “Who Dat” chant originated from racist minstrel shows. What he fails to mention is that Southern University, a black university in Baton Rouge, has a long history of using “Who Dat.” Some believe it was around in 1967 for an Alcorn State-Southern basketball game. It was part of a Southern U. band’s performance in 2010. Aaron Neville once sang “Who Dat” on New Orleans TV.
Let’s not beat around the bush here. Jason thinks that the white people at Bengals games who chant “Who Dey” are racist. What a world.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Eh5c8fE_kI]
