Carl R. Hines Sr. (March 23, 1931 – September 7, 2016) was a former American politician in the state of Kentucky and the first African-American to have served Louisville District 43.
In 1950 the Korean Conflict broke out and Hines would voluntarily join the Air Force on January 1, 1951, and serve for three years.
In 1970, Hines was elected secretary of the Louisville-Jefferson County Community Action Commission, and named director of the Housing Opportunity Center in Louisville.
In that year, a Japanese youth group visiting the Kentucky General Assembly sang the song to the legislators, using the original lyrics that included the word "darkies."
Hines subsequently introduced a resolution that would substitute the word "people" in place of "darkies" whenever the song was used by the House of Representatives.