I chose to live in the South. It's nice down here with good weather, good music, and good people - on the surface. Ever since I went southbound in the 70's, I've often heard folks say,"The South Shall Rise Again."
I probably first heard a variation in 1974 when Charlie Daniels sang..
So gather 'round, gather 'round chillun'
Get down, well just get down chillun'
Get loud, well you can be loud and be proud
Well you can be proud, hear now
Be proud you're a rebel
'Cause the South's gonna do it again and again
Here's the video of "The South's Gonna Do It Again" if you are so inclined to listen.
But, that was not the first time "The South Shall Rise Again" was spoken. The roots of the phrase go back to a group known as the Redeemers way back in 1868.
In the late 1860s and early 1870s southern Democrats began to gain more political strength as former Confederates were once again given the right to vote. During this time, across the South, people known to history as the Redeemers came into prominence.
The Redeemers actively promoted a return to conservative Democratic rule and opposed the Republican-led, federally-imposed local and state governments, which they saw as corrupt and a violation of true principles.
They were also dedicated to white dominance and sought to deny blacks any role in the new South. Many of the Redeemers were plantation owners and other wealthy elites who had lost power and wealth during the Civil War, former Confederate soldiers and loyalists, and a wide variety of supporters.
From 1868, they used violence, intimidation and even fraud to control or sabotage any election they could not influence, the goal being to reduce Republican voting and oust current officeholders. In 1868 alone, there were over 1,000 political murders in Louisiana, most of the victims being freedmen. ~Source
By no means do I think that Charlie Daniels, or most other good folks mean the same thing as the Redeemers. Charlie is talking about music. Others are talking about the 'Country Side of Life" like Wet Willie sang about...
You can have your buildings and your heavy arithmetic
I don't need no crowded streets or city slicker tricks
I just need to be someplace where I can move around
Look down at my toes and I can still see the ground
Gimme that country side of life
Which way I can stretch out right
Gimme the countryside ooh lord
That country side of life
Which way I don't get uptight
Gimme the countryside
Here's that video, which I recommend highly.
Anyway, like I said, good weather, good music, and good people - on the surface. Under the surface there's still some of that Redeemer vibe going around. That's where the White is the New Black comes in.
I'm thinking that the Blacks probably know this already, but the poor Whites have yet to figure out that slavery is not dead down here.
The Redeemers, those southern elites from the post Civil War period, did not just go away; they just included all poor people (which were in abundance) into their scheme. Their spawn continued the practice of enslavement legally. Sort of kind of.
This is already too long, so I will spare you the charts and graphs that reflect a certain group of states (Hint: The Confederacy) leads the country in poor education, inadequate medical care, unhealthy nutrition, low wages and other metrics that insure the population are unable to rise again. And, that's the plan. All of the poor and middle class are fair game for them, regardless of color.
The problem is that southerners keep voting in the slavers.
So, I say to my brothers and sisters of the South, RISE UP. You can still have that Country Side of Life, good music, and sweet tea. Just vote your current owners out. Give a listen to Bernie Sanders. Yeah, he talks funny but listen anyway- closely.
Bernie calls for a "political revolution" and if that ain't being a rebel then grits ain't groceries, eggs ain't poultry, and Mona Lisa was a man.