Chansky's Notebook: Dean and 'Dixie'

Dean Smith was 53 years ahead of NASCAR.

One of the more surprising moves in the racial injustice war being waged across America was NASCAR’s announcement that the confederate flag would no longer be flown at its race tracks.

A bold move, for sure, but good luck getting those flags off the pick-up trucks that roll into Talladega and Darlington, where there are still bound to be images of the old Stars and Bars on shirts, hats, bumper stickers and face masks, if anyone cares to wear them.

It reminds me of how far ahead of the game Dean Smith was in so many ways. In 1967, after his first ACC championship and Final Four the previous March, Smith was getting ready to introduce his latest star recruit, Charlie Scott — UNC’s first black scholarship athlete.

In the 1960s, the anthem of the Old South, “Dixie,” was still being played by many college bands before and during football games, and also in basketball arenas. While some people did not take offense to the song, Smith knew its meaning and did not want it in the arena where Scott was starting his varsity career.

(photo via UNC Athletics)

But Smith, far from the university icon he became, also did not want to make it an issue that might trigger a campus controversy. He called John Yesulaitis, also known as Major Y, and asked if he could stop by the office of the Carolina marching band director.

Major Y owed a favor to Smith, who in 1965 had asked him to bring a small pep band to basketball games and gave him a special section in the corner near the home bench in Carmichael Auditorium. The band blared “Here Comes Carolina!” – creating a hair-raising entrance as the Tar Heels emerged from their locker room below.

Smith had also heard the band play “Dixie” in one of its pre-game sets and ask Major Y if he could eliminate the song from his playlist, explaining that it might embarrass Scott, a student of history. Major Y obliged Smith and simply cut “Dixie” from his basketball menu.

After Bill Dooley signed quarterback Ricky Lanier as his first black football player the next year, “Dixie” also disappeared from Kenan Stadium.

Story of Dean Smith and the integration of Carolina Basketball comes from Game Changers, UNC Press.

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Chansky’s Notebook: Dean and ‘Dixie’

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