Barbecue is the third rail of North Carolina politics. John Shelton Reed barbecuecarolinanorth Change image and share on social
Country music historically has been sort of middle-aged people's music. John Shelton Reed agecountryhistorically Change image and share on social
You ask people what their ethnicity is, and a lot of Scots-Irish people either don't know or if they know it they just don't acknowledge it. It's not something they really identify with. They're just plain old Americans, plain vanilla. I don't think they are a self-conscious voting bloc. John Shelton Reed acknowledgeamericanbloc share on social
The nature of the South is changing faster than the stereotypes are. Much of the South now looks like San Jose. Is it still southern? John Shelton Reed changefastjose Change image and share on social
If you care to define the South as a poor, rural region with lousy race relations, that South survives only in geographical shreds and patches and most Southerners don't live there any more. John Shelton Reed caredefinegeographical Change image and share on social
Southern barbecue is the closest thing we have in the U.S. to Europe's wines or cheeses; drive a hundred miles and the barbecue changes. John Shelton Reed barbecuecheeseclose Change image and share on social
Dixie has just fallen to pieces. There are little patches of Dixie. But even in the heart of Dixie - in Alabama - Dixie is slipping. They've stopped using the word in commercial listings. John Shelton Reed alabamacommercialdixie Change image and share on social
Any Southern nationalist movement, especially one that wraps itself in the Confederate flag, is going to be viewed with suspicion, given the historical record. John Shelton Reed confederateflaghistorical Change image and share on social
The South is like my favorite pair of blue jeans. It's shrunk some, faded a bit, got a few holes in it. it just might split at the seams. It doesn't look much like it used to, but it's more comfortable, and there's probably a lot of wear left in it. John Shelton Reed bitebluecomfortable share on social
Maybe we've been brainwashed by 130 years of Yankee history, but Southern identity now has more to do with food, accents, manners, music than the Confederate past. It's something that's open to both races, a variety of ethnic groups and people who move here. John Shelton Reed accentbrainwashconfederate share on social