Oregon finally gives its ‘racist’ anthem a makeover

The western state of Oregon has voted to alter the lyrics of its anthem after 94 years after complaints that they were racist. Opponents of the change argued that it amounted to tampering with history but the state assembly voted 23 to 5 to change the opening lines to reflect the state’s ‘‘significant cultural, historical, economic and societal evolution’’. The first verse of Oregon, my Oregon, written in 1927 by John Buchanan, a judge and politician, included the lines: ‘‘Land of empire builders, land of the golden West; conquered and held by free men; fairest and the best.’’ Those lyrics will be replaced by ‘‘Land of majestic mountains, land of the great northwest; forests and rolling rivers, grandest and the best.’’