Destination Dixie: Tourism and Southern History

by Karen L. Cox (Editor)

Once upon a time, it was impossible to drive through the South without coming across signs to “See Rock City” or similar tourist attractions. From battlegrounds to birthplaces, and sites in between, heritage tourism has always been part of how the South attracts visitors—and defines itself—yet such sites are often understudied in the scholarly literature.             As the contributors to this volume make clear, the narrative of southern history told at these sites is often complicated by race, influenced by local politics, and shaped by competing memories. Included are essays on the meanings of New Orleans cemeteries; Stone Mountain, Georgia; historic Charleston, South Carolina; Yorktown National Battlefield;  Selma, Alabama, as locus of the civil rights movement; and the homes of Mark Twain, Margaret Mitchell, and other notables.             Destination Dixie reveals that heritage tourism in the South is about more than just marketing destinations and filling hotel rooms; it cuts to the heart of how southerners seek to shape their identity and image for a broader touring public—now often made up of northerners and southerners alike.

Genres: History

320 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Karen L. Cox is professor of history at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Dr. Cox received her BA and MA in history from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and her Ph.D. from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1997.

Reviews

[Jesse Owens Memorial Park · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fellow Lawrence County native, Barclay Key, reflects on his personal experience that fueled his passion to write the essay “From ‘Lawrence County Negro’ to National Hero: The Commemoration of Jesse Owens in Alabama.” In his essay, Key argues, despite Owens’ historical significance, many local whites contested attempts to commemorate him in his native Lawrence County, Alabama. Local officials actively stalled efforts to honor Owens. Although the Jesse Owens Park and Museum did become a reality, as Key shows, it required many years of effort laden with controversy, and in the end it succeeded through the interracial cooperation of two unlikely friends. The entire book is fantastic and worth adding to your collection.

[Reza Amiri Praramadhan · Rating 4 out of 5]

It mostly deals with how Southern American people came into peace with their past in presenting an interpretation of the historical tourist attractions in the land of Dixie, while at the same time gaining economic profits. I wish I could go to Dixie and visit every single one of them.