Dione Surdez Oliver was born in Santa Ana, California in 1969. She moved to Crooks, South Dakota when she was four years old. She grew up on her family’s small dairy farm. At the age of eighteen she moved back to Southern California. She worked in the music industry for some time as well as a legal assistant for a number of years. In 2003 Dione decided to pursue her educational endeavors and began studying at Santa Monica Community College. She transferred to the University of Southern California in the fall of 2006 and was granted the Norman Topping Student Aid Fund Scholarship. In 2009 Dione graduated with her Bachelor of Arts degree in Creative writing and a minor in Cultural Anthropology. She graduated with honors and received the Order of Troy. She currently resides in Manhattan Beach, California and where she is the director of CrossFit Zen and is working on entering the Masters of Professional Writing program at USC.
Inny, Minny, Miny, Moe
Catch a nigger by his toe
If he hollers, let him go
Inny, Minny, Miny, Moe
___
This is an oicotype of a very common childhood game. Usually, it says “Catch a tiger by his toe.” Dione informed me that this is the original version of the song. Apparently, it was changed because of how derogatory it is towards African Americans. As a native Californian, it would make sense that I have never heard this, as California is a little more tolerant state and a lot more diversified than most. However, I bet that if I travelled to the South or the Midwest I would hear it more commonly.