‘Dixie does represent the Southern states that fought to hold on to slavery…’
(Ben Sellers, Liberty Headlines) Over the past two years, partisan radicals in North Carolina have aggressively attacked the state’s Civil War monuments and prominently felled several historic statues.
Now they have a new target in their Orwellian campaign of historical revisionism: the word “Dixie.”
Under pressure from a group of local activists, the city of Winston–Salem announced Wednesday that it would be initiating the process to change the name of a popular annual fair that uses the “D-word.”
We have started a process to change the name of the Dixie Classic Fair, but it includes multiple avenues of collecting public input. Details will be released shortly. @JournalNow @myfox8 @WXII
— City of Winston-Salem, NC (@CityofWS) April 24, 2019
According to the Winston–Salem Journal, less than a month after the forced removal of a Confederate statue in the city’s downtown area—a popular tourist destination, known for its historical emphasis—activists led by Sir Walter Mack Jr., pastor of the Union Baptist Church, swarmed a city council meeting to demand the region’s 137-year-old fair change its name.
“Dixie does represent the Southern states that fought to hold on to slavery,” said Mack, who claimed to have researched the word in 1988 and to have boycotted the fair for the past two decades.
The activist group said it is connected with a local ecclesiastical-based organization, Love Out Loud, which has ties to prominent companies including Wells Fargo and Northwestern Mutual.
Although past partnerships have involved many noble and charitable undertakings, the 11-year-old nonprofit now appears to have been ensnared in politically motivated virtue-signaling of the worst kind.
The radical call for the name change at the April 9 meeting received little resistance from council members, though the city officials emphasized the need for additional public comment. They are currently accepting suggestions for the new name via an online survey.
Councilor John Larson called it “a fascinating opportunity to rebrand ourselves,” reported the Journal.
“We do need to have a thorough understanding of the history,” Larson said. “We have a fair committee involved in branding and marketing. Maybe they should bring a recommendation back to this board.”
However, some of those connected with the fair’s planning committee expressed shock over the unorthodox resolution being directed by the city, which normally would have required a committee vote.
The fair’s public relations manager, Rachel Lough, lamented that political forces had devised a solution in search of a problem, according to local NBC affiliate WXII.
“The Dixie Classic Fair is really all about bringing the community together … [W]e’re all about getting everyone together and being happy and celebrating how great we are,” Lough said.
“People have their own opinions on everything, but to us ‘Dixie’ came from over 50 years ago … [I]t just celebrates how great of an agricultural community we have here,” she added.
The Journal said that the Dixie Classic Fair has been the name of the festival since 1956, when it was changed from the Forsyth County Fair in order to emphasize a broader reach beyond the local region. The annual event began in the 1880s as the Wheat and Cattle Fair.
Five years ago, the city officially changed the name of its fairgrounds from the Dixie Classic Fairgrounds to the Winston–Salem Fairgrounds, though one local man launched a petition to change them back, the Journal said.
Although accounts vary, the etymology of the word “Dixie” is commonly attributed to the printing of 10-dollar bank notes in New Orleans prior to the Civil War. The currency used the French word dix, leading to Louisiana being referred to as “Dixie Land.”
The word “Dixie” later became associated more broadly with the Confederate states, most prominently in the eponymous song written by Ohio-born Daniel Decatur Emmett. The song—said to be a favorite of Abraham Lincoln’s—was later used by minstrel shows that relied on racist tropes like blackface to depict negative stereotypes.
The now-controversial fair will run from Oct. 4-13 assuming no further protests. The name change, currently under debate, would take effect next year, according to a press release issued by the city.