NORTH CAROLINA: Residents, Religious Leaders Discuss Name Change of Dixie Classic Fair

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Dozens of local residents and religious leaders made their voices heard regarding the name “Dixie Classic Fair” on Tuesday night as part of the City of Winston-Salem’s process of possibly changing the name of the fair.

Robert R. Hicks yells as Sir Walter L. Mack, Jr., senior pastor at Union Baptist Church, speaks during a public hearing about changing the name of the Dixie Classic Fair.

The city recently announced it would consider changing the name of the fair following complaints from several community members. Similar efforts have been made in the past.

More than 100 people gathered at the Education Building in the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds to state their opinion on the name of the fair at a public meeting, organized by the Fair Planning Committee. Some say the name is directly related to the Confederacy, white supremacy and the degradation of African-Americans, while others say the name is a celebration of the South and is no way hateful or racist.

More than half of the speakers on Tuesday night are in favor of changing the name of the fair.

“It hurts my heart to see us scrambling over a name change. Why don’t we just do the right thing? Right is right and wrong is wrong, regardless of who does it and I think the name should be changed,” said Winston-Salem resident Carrie Bardwell.

“I don’t care what you may say it came from, to us, it is derogatory and I think we should change the name.”

“We can not live in peace with a word that divides so Winston-Salem, let’s make it right and let’s do what’s right and I bet you that you won’t lose people if you change the name. More people will come,” said another Winston-Salem resident during Tuesday’s public meeting.

“Black people pay taxes in this county. If you want to fly the flag or have a statue or sing the song in your own private space that’s fine, don’t ask my people to support it with our tax dollars. It’s amazing how white people can identify with the suffering of Jews. You wouldn’t want the Third Reich Classic Fair. You wouldn’t want the SS Nazi Classic Fair but somehow we’re comfortable with the Dixie Classic Fair,” said Dr. Carlton Eversley, a local pastor.

People on the other side of the issue also made their voices heard on Tuesday night.

“It doesn’t mean slavery. It doesn’t have anything to do with it. The best thing to do is to leave it alone. This will be the most tremendous public relations blunder you’ve ever seen and you’ll lose 50 percent of your audience for your fair. If you want to kill the fair, change the name for political correctness,” said Winston-Salem resident Richard Miller.

“I will boycott the fair. Everybody I know, I will try to influence them to try to boycott the fair and you can appease the minority or you can alienate the majority, you do the best you can,” said Robert Hicks, who lives in Winston-Salem.

“Do I need to go through the Webster Dictionary and educate my children on all these words that people may be offended with? No. Because they’re your problem that you’re offended with them. They have no inkling in my brain that this is prejudice,” said Larry Smith, who lives in Winston-Salem.

“Let’s not muck up the world. It’s a ten dollar note that the French published when they were in control of Louisiana.”

“I don’t think we should change the name. Dixie to me is the South. Anybody who lives in the South, if you’re not proud of the South then go in a different direction. You’ve got the East, the West and the North and if you want to change things then I guess you’re going to have to take the word South off of the campus and do away with that, too,” said Winston-Salem resident Mary Staples.

Before the public meeting, the Coalition of Concerned Pastors and Churches, a group of local religious leaders from around the Winston-Salem area, held a press conference where they shared why they believe the name Dixie Classic Fair should be changed.

“Because we are clergy, we believe that the scriptures command us to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God. This will manifest in loving our neighbors as ourselves and putting others’ interest above our own. We recognize that some Christians will disagree with us, but we urge them to receive our united position as a desire to be of one mind and of one heart. We are motivated by the love and God and we love our neighbors. This is not a movement of hate but this is a movement of love and unity. We are not here with a political agenda or of any social pressure. Simply put, the name ‘Dixie’ has been, and continues to be, deeply injurious to many of our brothers and sisters in Christ and in this community. We stand to move this name from our city’s fair,” said Bishop Sir Dr. Walter L. Mack, Jr., the Senior Pastor of Union Baptist Church in Winston-Salem.

“This coalition is committed to engage in a manner that brings peace and unity. We are grieved by the vitriol written in social media and newspaper comment sections. We pray that our city can gather to discuss this publicly, without malice or violence. We come to make our voices known but our ears available. We’re clear about our desired outcome but understand that people see things differently. We want to listen and speak with patience and love.

“Even if we vehemently disagree our goal is a just and welcoming name for the fair, the good of our city and the love of each of our neighbors, we want a name to represent the progression of this city and I think all of us should stand together for that one cause.”

“We’re all motivated to preach and live out the gospel of Jesus Christ. We all desire that a new name for the fair should be given and we believe that it will help its continued success and we all desire unity and peace in this process,” said Dr. Peter Barnes, the Senior Pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Winston-Salem.

“No matter what the origins of the term ‘Dixie’ and no matter how much one might see it as a simply a synonym for the South in General, there is no denying that it was appropriated by the Confederacy as the music of secession and the perpetuation of slavery. In January, to protest the removal of the Confederate statue, I was there, the protesters there sang one song and one song only, ‘I Wish I was in Dixie.’ This song in its history was performed in black face, became the unofficial anthem of the Confederate States of America and now echoes in the voices of white supremacists. In no way, in no way at all are all who sing it filled with prejudice or racial hate but no one can deny its appropriation toward a superiority of whiteness and a mocking of black people,” said Rev. Giorgio Hiatt, the Senior Pastor at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Winston-Salem.

“The gathered clergy are not satisfied with the present name. The absence of injury is not the same as presence of peace, unity and flourishing. This coalition longs for a name that represents our love for the city, the region and the fair. We want more of what is true, good and beautiful about the fair and we want the name to reflect that shared desire,” said Rev. Dr. Keith Vereen, the Senior Pastor at Providence Baptist Church in Kernersville.

Members of the coalition say they believe the City Council will ultimately decide to change the name of the fair.

More than 8,300 people completed an online survey regarding the proposed name change. The majority of people who responded to the survey are in favor of the name remaining the same.

Fair Planning Committee leaders say it would likely cost between $500,000 and $1,000,000 to change the name of the fair. If the name is changed, the new name would not be used until 2020.

The Chair of the Fair Planning Committee as well as Council Member D.D. Adams, who was in attendance at Tuesday night’s meeting, say that the gathering went well.

The Fair Planning Committee will use all of the information and statements gathered in Tuesday’s public meeting before making their recommendation to the Public Assemblies Facility Commission this summer. Then, the City Council will decide whether to change the name of the fair this August.

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