Southern Cultural Identity Essay

Modern proponents of the Confederate flag cite several reasons for their support, but the central theme is that the flag is historically significant. Cooper & Knotts (2006) found among other reasons that support for the flag was by white southerners who feel “a connection to the south” (p. 152). Supporters feel that the flag stands for freedom from an oppressive government, and that it serves to honor and remember those ancestors who died during the Civil War. Beyond that, supporters are divided again, as Martinez (2008) said, “’Heritage preservation’ traditionalists see themselves as guardians of southern inheritance of honor and chivalry while a second group of traditionalists, most notably the Ku Klux Klan, espouses racist views” (p. 200).

The question being: are they racists? Bates attempts to answer this question, first, by detailing two Confederate reenactors: Vern Padgett and Don Wirth. Padgett, as Bates describes, is a “diehard Confederate reenactor” (pg. 191) and though a California native, speaks frequently about “misinformed Yankee propagandists” and his strongly held belief that the Confederate Army had as many as 200,000 African American soldiers serving in its ranks. Naturally, professional historians dismiss his claims, but his devotion to the ‘southern cause,’ while also being a Confederate reenactor furthers people’s notions of them being racist. Wirth on the other hand, growing up in the 1950’s and 1960’s, was heavily influenced by southern and Confederate romanticism, this was done through toys, magazines, and television shows, his sentiment is that the war was “full of passion and heroism and noble deeds” (pg. 193) seems in line with Lost Cause thinking.

Soul food is part of the African-American group since the time of slaves, and continues as tradition. It has become part of their culture. The Process of cooking soul food is also a way of socialization for the African-American community. Although soul food brings African-Americans together, some of the foods in their diet are a cause of stratification within the minority group

Another one is that the Southern

It is common knowledge that not everyone interprets everything in the same way. Just because a student wants to support their Southern heritage does not mean other students cannot use the same image to bully other students. We would not allow a student to wear a swastika to show their German heritage because it is insensitive the Jewish religion; we should not allow people to wear the Confederate flag simply because it is a Southern heritage. I would be far too likely that others would interpret it by its more familiar connotation with racism and slavers. By allowing such a racially charged symbol as the Confederate flag, schools are upholding the discriminatory aspect of the symbol.

Generally, it was discussed that eating specific foods added other meaning for those foods as well as the slaves. Some slaves that worked in the Master’s house ate the same food at the same time as the Master and family, creating an automatic higher rank in the social hierarchy because of what they consumed. Slaves were trained, partially through their dietary restrictions, to see themselves as different groups of people. The regulation of pork consumption allowed owners to have control, which acted as a marker of race and power.

According African American Registry, “Soul Food is a term used for an ethnic cuisine, food traditionally prepared and eaten by African Americans of the Southern United States. Many of the various dishes and ingredients included in "soul food" are also regional meals and comprise a part of other Southern US cooking, as well. The style of cooking originated during American slavery. African slaves were given only the "leftover" and "undesirable" cuts of meat from their masters (while the white slave owners got the meatiest cuts of ham, roasts, etc.).” In the actual movie Soul Food, Big Mama, grandmother and matriarch of the family, goes on to explain that since “black folks”, as she calls them, did not have an excess amount of money they had to find ways to make the food they could afford taste good.

In the film Soul Food Junkies by Byron Hurt, the consumption of soul food is argued as something to avoid for both health and cultural reasons. Spokesmen present the idea that soul food acts as a cultural retardant because of its slave roots, however these opinions ignore the abstract binding that soul food has on families. Food is a unique combination of geography, recipes, stories and celebrations that cannot be expressed in words. Soul food can only advance the strength of African American culture by nourishing the soul through memories family, tradition, and identity. In the film, the advancement of culture is never clearly defined to have a specific outcome therefore the judgment of its negative effect on African American culture cannot

In Alabama segregation is the main point because everyone wants to be rude and greedy. Segregation is for people who want to be one sided jerks that care about nothing but themselves. Some people need to learn how to not be about just one race color. Sweet Home Alabama by Ronnie VanZant In Sweet Home Alabama is about how beautiful Alabama is.

In the Antebellum US in the 19th and 20th centuries, pork dominated the plates of those eating and remained the most common meat in the region dubbing the south a “hog-eating confederacy”; through this hog meat ingestion, class, race, and gender were analyzed. Information such as what types and cuts of pork, the quantity consumed on a regular basis, and how ways eaten generated a distinct southern class structure; the diet of these people reflected the variety of social distinctions within the culture. For instance, white southern planters owned dozens to hundreds of slaves, and they consumed fresh pork (a luxury for a lot of southerners in the Antebellum region). Commonly they fed on hams, pork terrines, multiple cuts of pork, and different iterations in the same meal, and this reflected their position at the top of the social southern

I read a few articles and they all relate to my everyday life. One article in particular stated,” During the civil rights revolt of the 1950s and 1960, many Caucasian southerners did revive the use o the Confederate symbols, especially the Confederate flag and “Dixie” This was on the behalf of segregation and white dominance. Foster, G. (n.d.). The Lost Cause – American Civil War Home. Retrieved from http://www.civilwarhome.com/lostcause.html I lived in South Carolina my entire life

The Confederate Flag holds racial ties of racial injustice and extended far back to the time of the Civil War. Before and still there are still many people with wrong thinking of what the Confederate Flag actually connects to and what they want to believe. A final great example is that, Tiger Woods the first black person to play on a all whites golf field won the masters on April 13, 1997. This club did not allow black people to join neither play on the golf field until 1990. But on April 13, 1997 Tiger Woods became the world 's youngest African American to win the masters.

For the people of South Carolina, there is much to be prideful of. The rich culture and diversity of the state attracts tourists, businessmen, and families that integrate within the communities that have been established throughout the plethora of history that South Carolina has been involved with. The economy of South Carolina has been booming as various companies have stimulated jobs for people across that state, and this dynamic change is in part due to the national attention brought forth by the removal of the Confederate flag. The nation watched and nodded in approval as people rallied together in disdain of the Confederate flag after the wake of the terrible hate crime committed under its legacy. This event has propelled South Carolina

Ancestors fought for the Confederate Army, the beliefs of civil and state rights during the Civil War are not far removed from the beliefs of the people Howritz encounters. Not to be ignored is the racial tension that arguably was as intense then as it is now. Many ignorant White people feel superior to black people, driven home by their discontent of the Confederate Army losing the War. The South’s remembrance of the Civil War is based both on fact and lore but mainly on racism and ritual. Yes, people do mask their justification for supporting the Rebels by stating the war was ignited by civil and state rights, other’s do not even attempt to mask their reasoning by down right stating the black race is an inferior one.

The background of my cultural identity I am an African American female but that isn’t all there is to know me for. I am an African American girl who is very interactive with my religion and also my culture. Cultural identity can be hard to explain because some people don’t know what’s really in their culture and they fail to see , and understand it. I know what my cultural identity is because of my ethiopian flag, the baked macaroni, and the movie the lion king.