Positive Southern Cultural Identity

The statement that when the topic of the south comes up, negative stereotypes come to the minds of many is true and unfortunate. To find proof that the south is not just full of underdeveloped rednecks, you need not look further than right here at Georgia Tech. Georgia Tech boasts one of the top engineering colleges in the world and is one of the top Public schools in this country. On top of that, Tech is on the cutting edge of many research opportunities in various fields. It also maintains the southern tradition of southern atheletic excellence with its varsity football and basketball programs nationally ranked. The institution does all of this in Atlanta, the culturally vibrant heart of the south.

The Next Topic

When someone hears the word "southerner" a handful of negative stereotypes come to mind: redneck, racist, underdeveloped, etc. However, these are far from accurate. There are many aspects of southern culture that are extremely positive and need to be celebrated. Find an example of positive southern identity and be creative because there are plenty of characteristics out there (i.e.. hard working/blue collar).

Southern Identity Artifact

When McDonald's first broadcasted its chicken biscuit advertisement and bombarded television viewers with this commercial, I thought to myself, Why would anyone ever eat chicken for breakfast...? That was almost three years ago. Now after being at Georgia Tech for a semester, I have come to realize the uniqueness of Southern food and how well it represents the South.

Chicken biscuits are very popular in the South and are sold at fast food chains like Chick Fil-A, Bojangles, and KFC as well as small mom and pop restaurants. Before coming to Atlanta, having such heavy foods for breakfast was unimaginable. I and most of my friends rarely even ate breakfast, and when we did, it would be at most cereal or a piece of fruit. The art of Southern food though, demonstrates the qualities of Southern culture pretty well. The reason why breakfast was never an important meal to me was because I never had time to sit down and enjoy it. However, in the South, people generally take more time and do things at a leisurely pace. This is why Southern breakfasts include a huge assortment of biscuits, gravy, grits, scrambled eggs, potatoes, bacon, sausage, pancakes, french toast, waffles, etc.

Rock me momma

Wagon Wheel caries a distinctive southern sound that is mirrored in the music video above. Both the violin and banjo can be found in most music coming from south of the Mason Dixon Line. The lead singer Ketch Secor completes the band's bluegrass twang with an strong southern accent. The song tells the story of a man traveling great distances to see the woman he loves: "I made it down the coast in seventeen hours, pickin me a bouquet of dogwood flowers and I'm a-hopin for Raleigh I can see my baby tonight. . This theme of searching for your "baby" or being away from loved ones can also be found in country, southern rock, and blues. This is a wonderful representation of how southerners are "people" people and are extremely close to family and loved ones. The video has the band performing at a local fair in an open field during a girls show; both of which can be found in most southern cities..

Southern Style

Stretching from the east to west coast no artists can be found with the same chopped and screwed, "swanging low,"and "super swagg" having pace that the dirty south rappers display. This is the south that is represented today in media outlets everywhere. This mixtape cover serves as an avenue to regulate the flow of southern cultrue, identity, and complete essence to the rest of America and the world. I want to convey that I am not writing this as a African-American male thus all I think of is the rap, but rather a student that is a product of my enviornment but at the same time is not defined by it.

Jerry Clower

As a kid growing up, we would drive to see my family in Augusta or Union Point Georgia. The whole way we would listen Jerry Clower, one of my dad's favorite comedians. Jerry Clower was born in Mississsippi and lived around the Yazoo river. He represents more poor white southerners as most of his jokes revolve around coon hunting and dealing with rich folks. His accounts make the Mississippi region sound more backwoods and relatable. I think it is a pretty good depiction especially because a lot of his stories take place during the Great Depression.

MLK Jr. Day Parade

The article and attatched photos comes from "The South" magazine describing the recent Martin Luther King Jr. day parade in Savannah, GA. I think this article offers a representation of the south because it highlights the themes of racism and segregation in the south that we have been discussing in class and the strides taken by a great man to defeat them. I think this article helps say that these problems that once plagued the south are now gone because it celebrates the life of a key figure in the removal of these problems. I think this is an accurate representation of the south because it highlights the civil rights trend that began in the south.

artifact

Find an ARTIFACT (an image, a video clip, an audio file, a song, a book, an article, a statue, whatever) that offers a representation of the South or of southern identity. In your posting, you should:

• introduce the artifact.
• provide any relevant contextual information (i.e., what it is and where it can be found).
• briefly explain what you think the thing says about the region.
• explain how it says it.
• explain why you think this is an accurate representation or not.

The critical thing here: I don't want you to pick something that you think is REPRESENTATIVE of the South, but rather, something that offers a REPRESENTATION of the South. You need to figure out the difference between those two things.