NAACP FILES SUIT OVER ‘EYES OF TEXAS’

  

The Texas chapter of the NAACP and a group of University of Texas students have filed a federal civil rights complaint against the university for its continued use of school song “The Eyes of Texas”.

The complaint, filed with the U.S. Department of Education, alleges that black students, athletes, band members, faculty and alumni are being subjected to violations of the Civil Rights Act and a hostile campus environment over the use of the song.

The NAACP and the students want the federal government to withhold funding from the university.

Gary Bledsoe, president of the Texas NAACP and a Texas law school graduate, sharply criticized the university on Wednesday for requiring the Longhorn Band to play the song at athletic events, and expecting athletes to stand and sing it after games.

First-year football head coach Steve Sarkisian has said the team will sing the song.

Last year, a group of athletes and students called for the school to drop the song amid racial injustice protests.