Dixie has always been tied to the South, slavery and civil war, and has never been freed from that association by any artist or performing act. Using Dixie in a name has always been and always will be a mistake, unless you want to be tied to slavery and civil war. When you blame other for getting the “wrong” message, you multiply your errors.
To those who think they can cage Dixie to benign references, I ask this, who gained more from normalization of Dixie in recent decades, music and food aficionados or white supremacists? If you advance any cultural aspect of the South while using the term Dixie, you are also benefiting white supremacists, insurrectionists and others determined to divide us. It will remain that way for the foreseeable future. Letting culprits get away with aw shucks defenses based in ignorance without any responses only benefits those seeking the next normalization of white supremacy.
Connections between Dixie, slavery and civil war have been obvious to me for as long as I remember, thanks to historical knowledge, and all of the educators and activists keeping us informed. In my college town alone back in the 80’s, my Columbia, MO apartment on Paquin and Hitt was a stone’s throw away from the Catalpa Tree Cafe cooperative restaurant and food buying club where hippies could exchange progressive ideas to their hearts content. Even after the cafe closed, the hippies were around to talk with. Just a few blocks further was the Columbia Chautauqua Association, where more dedicated peace and justice activists were known to gather. Across the small downtown, one could further engage with progressives and activists at the historic Blind Boone Home or working with Mid-Missouri Peaceworks, who by 1990 opened a storefront at the Peace Nook. For more conversations and even educational experiences, one could head over to the University of Missouri and talk with historians and activists in the Department of Peace Studies.
I did that as much as I could between studying biological sciences and hanging out with friends. It was a great foundation of education, activism and progress to build on. Even without the resources listed above, I was well aware that Dixie was closely tied to slavery and civil war. Yet, somehow I managed to fumble away all of that knowledge and support in producing one of the greatest failures among the many of my lifetime of failures.
You see, that same apartment on Paquin and Hitt was central to the origin story of the band my friends formed and named Blue Dixie. I knew back then the name was tied to slavery and civil war and tried to tell them, but not enough to ensure that they couldn’t claim innocent ignorance later. I was too deferential to their artistic whims about advancing Dixieland Jazz, which, as a jam band, they did not do anyway. So, decades later, when the largely defunct Blue Dixie changed their name to Dancing Earth Reunion, they explained themselves using tweets that said they did not know about the connections between Dixie, slavery and civil war, while they also blamed others for getting the wrong message. I would link to their thread, but they blocked me for posting this tweet.
Friends and followers know about my longstanding concerns about twitter, other corporate social media, and current technology practices, so it should be no surprise to those that know me that I did not respond immediately, but rather only replied after I saw their excuses when KDHX recently broadcast more of their callous explanations in a memorial to Smitty, our friend and their recently passed drummer.
I am sorry about the timing of my tweet, but not the content. Those who use memorials to throw around callous lame excuses over a name tied to millions of destroyed lives and continuing divisions should expect responses. Perhaps it was surprising to them after I regretfully passed on so many opportunities over the decades to keep reminding Blue Dixie that Dixie is tied to slavery and civil war.
Though they did not include me in naming discussions after the initial conversations, I could have kept bringing it up at any of the many load ins and load outs I helped with. I could have grabbed a microphone to talk about Dixie, slavery and the civil war at any of the events I helped produce, particularly in benefits meant to raise awareness and donations for victims of genocide. I could have produced a slide show to project between music acts. I could have initiated discussions between Blue Dixie and folks at the Blind Boone center. I didn’t do any of those things. I kept going along with what I believed was supportive friendship. I should have stood up more for what is right. They would have gotten mad and blamed me for misrepresenting their messages, but I would have been sure that they knew about the connections between Dixie, slavery and civil war. As Smitty could appreciate more than anybody else around the band, if you are going to play a heel, you might as well start early. I regret not doing so.
Why didn’t I do more? Was I unaware of fellow college students lacking even the most basic knowledge of historical connections between Dixie, slavery and civil war? Maybe I was too insecure and wanted friends. Maybe I used acts for the crowds they attracted. Maybe I wanted to believe that an act with Dixie in the name could be apolitical. Maybe I believed that all of their positive messages overcame tying themselves to slavery and civil war. It could have been some combination of those excuses or some other reasoning. Whatever the justifications, I was wrong. Dixie has always been tied to slavery and civil war, and has never been freed from that association by any artist or performing act. I should have done more to inform others.
By failing to ensure that Blue Dixie knew that Dixie is permanently tied to slavery and civil war, I failed many friends, acquaintances and audiences. Not only did I let down Blue Dixie, I failed to live up to standards modeled by numerous honorable mentors, including Diana Nomad, Mark Haim, Carolyn Matthews, Michael Ugarte, Lorena Tinker, Charlie Atkins and all of Mid-Missouri Peaceworks and University of Missouri Peace Studies.
I failed to act. I am sorry. But, that is not all. Another lesson I learned is to be cautious with those labeling themselves as apolitical. They can grab credit for bringing people together with their art in good times, while also using the apolitical tag to shirk any commitment to the difficult tasks of informed conversation, reconciliation and actual progress. Culturally sensitive producers beware long term associations with acts claiming to be apolitical, especially ones with blatantly political terms in their titles.
Though I will never atone for those decades of mistakes, I will continue to raise awareness and act for progressive ideals as I can. The best I can do is admit my mistakes and humbly seek forgiveness as I continue striving for peace and justice in collaborative organizing environments. As I continue down this path, I will make more mistakes, so I also request that my colleagues please let me know where I am going astray.
To finish, I want to acknowledge all equity activists, named, unnamed and nameless, new and old, black, white, red and yellow, each of whom has toiled for access, peace and justice over many decades. I and my mentors listed above are all old or dead. We work as we can while we pass the torch of freedom and equality on to younger activists doing great work with groups such as the NAACP, Daily Kos, Black Lives Matter, and Color of Change. Too often, you are labeled as out of touch, impractical dreamers, even as years later, when people finally start addressing issues, you are ignored and overlooked by brand marketing acts polishing their images with public statements and cultural gestures. You lay the groundwork for progress. Your honest contributions are at least as important as any speeches, lyrics or dance moves. Please keep up the good work as you are able.