Changes

{{Infobox person

{{Infobox person

| name=Kathryn Elizabeth "Kate" Smith​

| name=Kathryn Elizabeth "Kate" Smith​

(American singer known for "When the Moon Comes Over the Mountain" and "God Bless America")

(American singer known for "When the Moon Comes Over the Mountain" and<br> "God Bless America")

| birth_date=May 1, 1907​

| birth_date=May 1, 1907​

| birth_place=Greenville, Augusta County<br>

| birth_place=Greenville, Augusta County<br>

St. Agnes Cemetery in Lake Placid, Essex County, [[New York]]

St. Agnes Cemetery in Lake Placid, Essex County, [[New York]]

| religion=[[Roman Catholic]]

| religion=[[Roman Catholic]]

| psrty=[[Republican Party|Republican]]

| party=[[Republican Party|Republican]]

| spouse=Never married<br>

| spouse=Never married<br>

'''Parents''':<br>

'''Parents''':<br>

More than thirty years after her passing, Miss Smith was targeted by  [[political correctness]] because two of her songs,  "That's Why Darkies Were Born" and "Pickaninny Heaven," were declared "racist." From 2009 to 2019, the [[New York Yankees]] played her "God Bless America" in the seventh inning of each home game. The Yankees in 2019 removed Smith's song from its schedule.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/ny-kate-smith-god-bless-america-20190418-wfkyednrvrherh57sfmb4h7s5y-story.html |title=Yankees dump Kate Smith's 'God Bless America' from rotation over singer's racist song|author=Stefan Bondy|publisher=''The New York Daily News''|date=April 18, 2019 |access-date=June 17, 2020}}</ref>  The following day, the Philadelphia Flyers to which she had been loyal, also dumped Smith. "We have recently become aware that several songs performed by Kate Smith contain offensive lyrics that do not reflect our values as an organization," the Flyers told [[CNN]].<ref name=flyers>{{cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/19/us/kate-smith-yankes-flyers-god-bless-america-song-dropped-trnd/index.html |title=Sports teams dump Kate Smith's 'God Bless America' because of her racist songs |publisher=[[CNN]]|author=Doug Criss and Jill Martin|accessdate=April 19, 2019}}</ref>  

More than thirty years after her passing, Miss Smith was targeted by  [[political correctness]] because two of her songs,  "That's Why Darkies Were Born" and "Pickaninny Heaven," were declared "racist." From 2009 to 2019, the [[New York Yankees]] played her "God Bless America" in the seventh inning of each home game. The Yankees in 2019 removed Smith's song from its schedule.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/ny-kate-smith-god-bless-america-20190418-wfkyednrvrherh57sfmb4h7s5y-story.html |title=Yankees dump Kate Smith's 'God Bless America' from rotation over singer's racist song|author=Stefan Bondy|publisher=''The New York Daily News''|date=April 18, 2019 |access-date=June 17, 2020}}</ref>  The following day, the Philadelphia Flyers to which she had been loyal, also dumped Smith. "We have recently become aware that several songs performed by Kate Smith contain offensive lyrics that do not reflect our values as an organization," the Flyers told [[CNN]].<ref name=flyers>{{cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/19/us/kate-smith-yankes-flyers-god-bless-america-song-dropped-trnd/index.html |title=Sports teams dump Kate Smith's 'God Bless America' because of her racist songs |publisher=[[CNN]]|author=Doug Criss and Jill Martin|accessdate=April 19, 2019}}</ref>  

On April 21, 2019, a statue of Smith established by the Flyers was removed from the Wells Fargo Center in [[Philadelphia]]. Her family denied that she was "racist" in any way. In 1945, Smith called for racial tolerance in an address on CBS Radio: "Race hatreds, social prejudices, religious bigotry, they are the diseases that eat away the fibers of peace." She went on to say that it is up to us to tolerate one another in order to achieve peace.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.philly.com/arts/kate-smith-racist-radio-address-flyers-statue-20190425.html |title=Kate Smith called for racial tolerance in this forgotten 1945 radio address |author=John Timpane|accessdate=April 27, 2019 |publisher=Philly.com|date=April 25, 2019|accessdate=June 17, 2020}}</ref>​

On April 21, 2019, a statue of Smith established by the Flyers was removed from the Wells Fargo Center in [[Philadelphia]]. Her family denied that she was "racist" in any way. In 1945, Smith called for racial tolerance in an address on CBS Radio: "Race hatreds, social prejudices, religious bigotry, they are the diseases that eat away the fibers of peace." She went on to say that it is up to us to tolerate one another in order to achieve peace.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.philly.com/arts/kate-smith-racist-radio-address-flyers-statue-20190425.html |title=Kate Smith called for racial tolerance in this forgotten 1945 radio address |author=John Timpane|accessdate=April 27, 2019 |publisher=Philly.com|date=April 25, 2019|accessdate=June 17, 2020}}</ref>​

 

==Death==

==Death==

In her later years, she was impaired by diabetes. In 1976, she suffered brain damage while in a diabetic coma. In January 1986,she lost her right leg because the diabetes caused poor circulation. Five months later, she underwent a mastectomy. She died at the age of seventy-nine of respiratory arrest at Raleigh Community Hospital in the capital city of [[Raleigh]], [[North Carolina]].​<ref name=findagrave/>

In her later years, she was impaired by diabetes. In 1976, she suffered brain damage while in a diabetic coma. In January 1986,she lost her right leg because the diabetes caused poor circulation. Five months later, she underwent a mastectomy. She died at the age of seventy-nine of respiratory arrest at Raleigh Community Hospital in the capital city of [[Raleigh]], [[North Carolina]].​<ref name=findagrave/>