So we may not be done with the debate just yet. In this case, they opted to introduce a rainbow sheep instead of the traditional black sheep.

Later, the story reappeared in an Australian school district. The district later clarified that there was no such ban, just optional racial sensitivity courses. This prompted allegations in the media and from other parents that the district was overreacting. It had been reported that one school district had banned the nursery rhyme. In time, however, it became clear that the political climate in the UK had created a controversy where there really wasn’t one. The reasoning here was that the titular “black sheep” was a reference to African slaves, with the wool referencing them being forced to work on farms. In the case of ‘Baa, Baa, Black Sheep’, controversy first started in the 1980s and 1990s, when a few parents in the United Kingdom started to complain that their children were being taught a song that alluded to slavery. However, some older pieces can have coded language that seems harmless enough at first glance, but may actually have a hidden darker meaning. It is just talking about sheep, after all. In and of itself, the rhyme seems harmless. Is ‘Baa, Baa, Black Sheep’ Politically Incorrect? Rosewig in (Illustrated National) Nursery Songs and Games. The first time the rhyme was published with its familiar melody (based off an 18th century French tune) was all the way back in 1879, by A. One of the more common examples of nursery rhymes is ‘Baa, Baa, Black Sheep.’ While many people may have their own spin on it, the most common variant on the rhyme is: In fact, if you rounded up a group of adults and asked them to try and recite a favorite nursery rhyme from memory, chances are they would all have something to offer (especially parents).

No matter what type of household you grew up in or where you live in the US, nursery rhymes are a staple of many childhoods.

Dark sheep song