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THE SOUTH
The South as a Distinctive Region
William Faulkner captured the legacy of Dixie: "The
past isn't over. It isn't even past." Has the South asserted itself into the mainstream of American
culture and politics? Has Southern culture been Americanized? We will examine this theme.
First, how about goin' South? Try these general links to the region:
Find below discussions and links to two types of sites, forming a dialectic between them as the South
moves forward:
- The Civil Rights Movement, which has been a constant struggle throughout the Deep South over the last 40 years;
- The Resurgent South, or as Applebome calls the phenomenon,
Dixie Rising, a populist, anti-Washington, States' Rights, Evangelical Christian, Confederacy-nostalgic,
and often white supremacist and racist.
The dialectic based on Civil Rights and, in effect, States' Rights
posed here is simply this: Wither the South?
The Civil Rights Movement
The return of black soldiers from World War II may have sparked some early insurgency, but it was black students
and black women who formed the early grass-roots basis of the Civil
Rights Movement. We have seen excerpts from a film series, Eyes on the Prize, which captures the stark
drama of many episodes of that complex event, especially the most public and easily filmed conflicts. Remember
that, beginning about 1960, television carried many of these images into the homes of Americans throughout the
land.
Southern Resurgence: Dixie Rising
For current news reporting by the Confederate
Memorial Association about the resurgence of the Confederacy
abounds. Consider for purposes of our review in class a report concerning a march
in Washington, D.C., to commemorate the birthday of Robert E. Lee. Under the Battle Flag of the Confederacy,
South Carolina state Representative Richard Hines urged citizens of the South to consider anew the issue
of secession. The main speaker was South Carolina Senator Strom Thurmond. Associated with the event were
the following organizations
- The United Daughters of the Confederacy proudly boasts a 110 year history
of keeping the memory of the War Between the States alive. They appear to have succeeded, if not seceded.
- The Council of Conservative Citizens had recruited
Republicans Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, from
Mississippi, and Representative Bob Barr (of Clinton impeachment fame), who later claimed that they had no
idea of the CCC's racist agenda and practices. The Republican Party has recently distanced itself from the
CCC.
- South Carolina state Representative Richard Hines
- Southern Partisan, a magazine devoted to the
Resurgent South
- The innocuous sounding Foundation for American Education pushes secession and Southern nationalism.
- The Southern Relief Society
- Confederate Memorial Committee
Each of the "reb sites" above contains links to a wide web of sited dedicated to the proposition
of the Resurgent South. Other "reb-sites" which advocate Dixie Rising include:
Critics of Neo-Confederacy
Folks who don't call Dixie home may be surprised to learn about the extent and virulence of Southern nationalism.
However, some have noticed.
- Foes of racism, such as the Institute for
the Study of Academic Racism, have kept a close watch on the neo-Confederacy movement. Julian Bond, an early
and persistent civil rights leader, continues to monitor
the right-wing politics of the South.
- Militarism is a mainstay of Southern culture, and with it, paramilitary right-wing groups. The Militia
Watchdog, Sparky, keeps a sharp eye out for militia activity.
- Anti-Semitism has been as Southern as racism, so the Jewish Defense
Organization keeps a sharp watch on hate groups in the South. Currently, they are monitoring the campaign of
David Duke for the House seat in Louisiana vacated by erstwhile Speaker Bob Livingston.
- Dixie Rising as a social movement has caught the attention of Brian Britt,
writing in Z magazine.
- Crawfish attempts to fight racism in the South by refuting
neo-Confederacy. The site hone in on racist
views, exposing them. Sebesta's press release linking Senator Trent Lott to the conservative, racist Council
of Conservative Citizens was picked up by the Washington Post, leading to a firestorm of protest.
The site also tracks the campaign of wannabe Southerner (Washington, D.C., suburb of Virginia), Pat
Buchanan. Read an interview with
Edward Sebesta, the Dallas-based founder of Crawfish.
- Social ecology is presented in an agrarian tradition, another essential
part of the Southern character. This progressive site dedicates itself to decentralization, not secession,
to peace and not the rebel yell.
Southern literature remains a stand-out. Southern authors goes on and on, like no other region,
but let's start with William Faulkner. Try these web sites:
ProfWork, by Wayne Hayes, Ph.D.
for Inside America, AAMR30501
whayes@orion.ramapo.edu
March 9, 2000
