It has been all-out war here in our little town. Our beloved Dixie College got a new president who felt that the name Dixie was racist and needed to be changed. He started a campaign, the cost of which was way more than the money he spent. It divided our town. The battle went on and on. Eventually the legislature approved the change and thousands upon thousands of dollars were spent to change signage, letterheads, logos, etc. But the hearts of many of the people were not changed. Many vowed to withdraw their support of the college- both monetary and emotional.
Why? Why are people's feelings so very strong on this issue? In a recent conversation with my sister, I saw the issue with more clarity. That outsider college president and many of the students that come from outside our community, the members of the legislature that are not from here, my sister and others who are not from here simply do not get it. They don't know about and have not experienced the Dixie spirit. Let me clarify that I am not from here either. But, after moving here, it didn't take long for me to experience that warm Dixie spirit. Let me share my memory of the first time I felt that warm spirit:
We attended a banquet for the chamber of commerce years ago. The Program Bureau from Dixie State was asked to perform for us. In trapsed many college students- I'd guess maybe 75 of them. They were not in fancy costumes- just jeans and t-shirts mostly. There were clean-cut looking kids, and kids with long, straggly hair and earrings in places we don't usually put earrings. There were kids of all races, all colors of skin. They were kids that wanted to be part of something great. At Dixie State, everyone was invited and encouraged to be part of program bureau. There were no try-outs. All were welcome and the kids loved it. Their leader, Roween DuFure, sat at the piano. They sang a couple of numbers, and then they sang, "Are You From Dixie?" Okay, just as I typed that name, I literally got chills up my arms just remembering. Those kids sang with all of their hearts. They were practically shouting. Soon, most of the audience joined in. Then, everyone stood and clapped along. That, folks, is the Dixie spirit. Mrs. DuFure had rewritten the words of that old song, and everyone knew it:
Are you from Dixie?
I said from Dixie!
Where the fields of cotton beckon to me.
We're glad to see ya
To say 'How be ya?'
And the friends we're longin' to see.
If you're from Santa Clara, Washington,
Or St. George, fine,
Anywhere below the Iron County line,
Then you're from Dixie,
Hurray for Dixie,
It is exactly the opposite of Woke or what the name Dixie is accused of meaning. It was the most all-inclusive, unifying feeling I maybe have ever felt. I was converted. I had the Dixie spirit!
Cheering at Dixie State ballgames, watching Dixie State students perform on stage or in the band, seeing the giant D painted on the mountain, all give us that wonderful feeling.
Where did the name come from? As I understand it, Brigham Young called early pioneers to go to southern Utah to grow cotton. He called them to Dixie. There was nothing racist or prejudice at all in that name.
It is actually abhorrent and shocking to those of us who have felt that spirit to be accused of the name being racist. It is exactly the opposite to us.
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| I wonder if I will ever be able to accept this new name. |
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