Mo. university chief sorry band played 'Dixie'

Missouri State University is apologizing after its band performed "Dixie" at a site where three black men were lynched in 1906.

Interim President Clif Smart tells the Springfield News-Leader the song was an "unfortunate selection" and won't be played again in a public venue.

The Confederate anthem has come to represent the ideology of the Old South.

The school's Pride Band played "Dixie" at the Nov. 18 dedication of Park Central Square in Springfield, the southwest Missouri city where the university is located. A plaque identifies the square as the location where three black men were lynched more than a century ago.

Smart says the band director didn't understand the significance of the song.

The local NAACP president says "Dixie" was an inappropriate choice and sparked community complaints.

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Information from: Springfield News-Leader, http://www.news-leader.com

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