"I Wish I Was In Dixie!"

Due to my strong sense of pride of my Southern heritage, it was inevitable that the day would come when I would address the Confederacy and the racist sentiment that surrounds the topic. As an example, I'm writing about the Confederate Anthem, "Dixie."

The song "Dixie" was written by Daniel Decatur Emmet and first performed in the 1850's in a Blackface Minstrel Show. While blackface mintrels could be viewed as racist, as they were whites impersonating blacks, some view that it taught whites about the black cuture at this time without the intent of being racist. (Try comparing this idea of performance to those of Carlos Mencia or Dave Chappell in which whites are not just characterized or impersonated). The subject of the melody is that of a Black man wishing to return to the plantation where he was born. As the Civil War progressed, versions of "Dixie" adapted for the wartime, and became the unofficial anthem of the Confederate Army. Fact: "Dixie" was one of President Abraham Lincoln's favorite songs and was played at his enauguration. Can this song truly be considered "racist"?