CONFEDERATE IN THE NAME CONFEDERATE RAILROAD
Let me explain something here. Some folks are slow to understand, so I’ll try to write slow.
The country band Confederate Railroad was formed in 1987. That matters because it helps explain the culture in which they chose their name.
Back then, many people in the South did not automatically connect the word “Confederate” with racism in the way many people do today. I know because I grew up in the South. Whether that was right or wrong, that was the reality I experienced.
Nobody I knew was saying The Dukes of Hazzard was a racist television show because the General Lee had a Confederate flag painted on its roof. To us, it represented the South. It wasn’t about slavery. It wasn’t about racism. It wasn’t about celebrating the Civil War. It was simply viewed as a Southern symbol. Kids of every skin color watched and loved that show.
I remember when I picked my class ring in high school. I wasn’t involved in sports or clubs, so I was flipping through the options trying to find something to put on it. I saw a Confederate flag and thought, “Well, I’m from the South. That fits.” So that’s what I chose. It wasn’t a racist statement. I have never been a racist, and it never crossed my mind that it meant anything other than being Southern.
Confederate Railroad came along during that same cultural period.
Having said that, times have changed. More importantly, white supremacist hate groups helped change what many people now see when they look at the Confederate flag.
Whether they adopted it or reclaimed it, they made it a symbol that now carries deep pain for many people. Looking back, even if many of us didn’t understand all of its historical meaning, it doesn’t take much reflection to realize why others would.
I don’t like the Confederate flag today. That class ring disappeared years ago, but if I found it now, I wouldn’t wear it. Not just because my fingers are too fat. I wouldn’t wear it because I have come to despise what that flag now represents in our culture.
Some people say, “You were told to be offended by something that never offended you.” That may sound like a clever talking point, but here’s the reality. If I discover that something unnecessary causes pain to my brothers and sisters of another race, I don’t need to cling to it. I can lay it aside. I have no desire to have anything to do with the Confederate flag today.
At the same time, it’s much easier for an individual to walk away from something than it is for a successful country band to change the name under which they built an entire career.
Confederate Railroad is not a racist band. They’re talented musicians doing outstanding songs. What they have resisted is the idea that they must change their name simply because someone demands it in order to prove they aren’t racist.
I understand that position.
I’m not a racist, and I don’t spend my life trying to prove to everyone that I’m not. My rejection of the Confederate flag isn’t about proving anything. It’s about loving people. If something that serves no real purpose hurts people made in the image of God, I can gladly leave it behind. But proving I’m not racist has never been my motivation.
Before people rush to judge Confederate Railroad, they should actually listen to their music. It’s good country music. More importantly, I personally know one of the band’s guitarists. He’s one of my closest friends, and there is nothing racist about him. He’s a good man, and that’s been my experience with the band as well.
We live in a time when symbols are interpreted differently than they once were. We should be willing to listen to one another with humility instead of assuming the worst about everyone.
We can reject racism completely while also recognizing that not every decision made decades ago was motivated by racism. Sometimes understanding history requires enough honesty to acknowledge that both things can be true.
