I spend most of my Reddit time over on /r/flyers the sub hoagie of the NHL's Philadelphia Flyers. Yesterday, the statue of Kate Smith, who was known in part for singing "God Bless America" for good luck prior to Flyers games, was removed thanks to Smith's association with some racist songs. The New York Yankees also have severed ties to Smith, including that they are no longer playing "God Bless America" during the 7th inning stretch. That's all by way of context.

This is naturally a controversial subject with some level of nuance. Some in the online community have alleged that one of the songs cited as particularly distasteful, "That's why the Darkies Were Born" was intended to be satire. I have some reason to suspect that this wasn't the case, but I know enough about the subject to know I'm unable to come up with a good answer myself. So, I put it to you: Was the song intended to be satire?

Here's some context if it's helpful: The wiki article on the song is here (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/That%27s_Why_Darkies_Were_Born). To be clear, I'm not proposing anyone use this as a source. In fact, one of the reasons for my skepticism is that the citation on the song presenting a "satirical view of racism" is from 2011 in an article about the Marx Brothers classic "Duck Soup." Still, I think this is what people are using to justify the satire claim. So it might be helpful in that regard.

Here is a local news story on the removal which provides much of the context for how people are viewing Kate Smith's removal: (https://www.nj.com/flyers/2019/04/flyers-follow-yankees-lead-erase-all-connection-to-kate-smith.html)

I understand that this is a question predicated on the author's intent which may add a layer of complexity, but any light added to this subject would be helpful.