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Cotton-Eyed Joe origins

The song "Cotton-Eyed Joe" has connections to slavery-era culture and minstrel caricature, with its origins being described as racist. The song has been adapted and reinterpreted across communities and centuries.

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Jan 14, 2026
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Does the song cotton eyed Joe have racist origins?

The best-supported historical reading is that "Cotton-Eyed Joe" emerged in the American South before the Civil War and carries connections to slavery-era culture and minstrel caricature—facts that hav...