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my Southern Heritage

July 12, 2015 By Talya Tate Boerner

Whoa, everywhere you turn people are talking and arguing about theย Confederate flag. Many want to erase it from history. Others are wrapping their bodies in it like a beloved blanket. Southern heritage means different things to different people. No matter how much ranting and protesting one way or another, people will NEVER see things exactly the same way.

Youย probably knew it was only a matter of time before I had to throw my two cents in about southern heritage. After all, myย blog includesย grits in the title for heaven’s sake. Southern? Why yes I am.

But the Confederate flag is not a symbol of my southern heritage.

My southern heritage includesย the people and places and family traditions that shaped me.

My Southern Heritage, Home Place

This land at our home place, once swampy and snaky, land that my grandparents and great-grandparentsย cleared, this is my southern heritage.

Land rich in history.

This land, my heritage.

This is the placeย I return home to as often as possibleโ€”the place I can breathe and remember and just be.

my southern heritage

This field was (is) my playground.

My sister and I spent countless hours zooming ourย Matchbox cars between the furrows of cotton that by August grew thick and high above ourย heads. Weย hunted for tadpoles and turtles in the ditches and made mudpies on steamy summer days. We rode our John Deere bicycles to the far edge of the property where the earthย seemed to curve. We chopped cotton with the farm hands.

My southern heritage includes priceless black and white family photos and stories passed down for generations.

My Nana, Frances Creecy

A wooden box of old family recipes, the handwritten cards smeared with oily fingerprints and smudges of chocolate.

My church home filled with memories I can recallย more clearly than what I did last week.

Brinkley Chapel, my southern heritage

My southern heritage includes the small Delta towns that will always be home to me, andย Old Man River which roils nearby shaping the very cultureย of this place.

The truth is, racism isnโ€™t my story. Iโ€™ve never been denied anything because of my race. My ancestors who hailed from Tennessee and other points below the Mason-Dixon line likely fought against the abolition of slavery. They probably even owned slaves. Although Iโ€™ve never researched my ancestry, I doubt my people sat in the back of the bus. So who am I to say the rebel flag isnโ€™t racist to those whose ancestors were slaves?

I am reminded of the wise words of Atticus Finch in Harper Leeโ€™s iconic book To Kill a Mockingbird. “If you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view [โ€ฆ] until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.”

Since we canโ€™t literally climb into someoneโ€™s skin, maybe all we can hope for is tolerance. As a society we’d do well to remember that everyoneโ€™s story is different and worthy of consideration. Even those completely unlikeย our own.

Maybe it’s wishful thinking on my part, but I gottaย believe that down deep where we all live, we are more alike than not.

my southern heritage

Grace Grits and Gardening
Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

[tweetthis]My #Southern #Heritage is #Delta farm land. @ArFB @ArWomenBloggers @farmpress[/tweetthis]

Musical Pairing:

American Kids, Kenny Chesney

Filed Under: Arkansas, Family, Farm, Home, Life Tagged With: Mississippi County, Mississippi River, Northeast Arkansas, Southern

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Comments

  1. Colene says

    July 12, 2015 at 9:54 am

    Great post!

    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      July 12, 2015 at 1:27 pm

      Thanks Colene.

  2. Patricia Rodgers says

    July 12, 2015 at 9:58 am

    Just wanted to say that your words make a lot of sense and I understand exactly what you said! Thank you for your open mindedness!

    • Colene says

      July 12, 2015 at 10:00 am

      Great reply. I tried to think of something that brilliant to say, but you did it for me.

    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      July 12, 2015 at 1:27 pm

      Thank you Patricia.

  3. Kip says

    July 12, 2015 at 10:54 am

    Great post! I think we are all the sum total of many parts. That flag does represent a bit of Southern pride to some and a boot in on the back to some others.

    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      July 12, 2015 at 1:28 pm

      Yes, thanks Kip. Good to hear from you!

  4. Gary says

    July 12, 2015 at 11:03 am

    Well said!

    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      July 12, 2015 at 1:28 pm

      Thanks Gary!

  5. gina says

    July 12, 2015 at 11:06 am

    I love your post, Talya. But, I don’t like the word tolerance. I don’t want to tolerate something. I want to…I can’t think of the word, or maybe there isn’t a word yet. Understand? Accept? Why can’t people just accept and not just tolerate?

    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      July 12, 2015 at 1:29 pm

      Maybe tolerate isn’t a good word. Maybe empathy? Or compassion. I don’t know. Hard to put into words…Thanks Gina!

  6. Barbara Tate says

    July 12, 2015 at 1:37 pm

    Well said. Loved the post and the pictures. I especially like the one of Mother with her gun. The video fit perfectly. Have always liked it.

  7. Robin says

    July 12, 2015 at 3:12 pm

    Well said! What happen to consideration for others? In our fast paced life no one ever seems to show consideration for others.

  8. Linda Beason says

    July 12, 2015 at 3:48 pm

    Good thoughts , good words , great pictures . Most of the things I did myself . Compassion brings it together ! Thanks

  9. Mark Price says

    July 12, 2015 at 3:59 pm

    My thoughts exactly. You express yourself well.

  10. june walker says

    July 12, 2015 at 4:20 pm

    Very well said, Talya…..you are always so thoughtful with your words. I am the first generation in my family that were not farmers, they migrated from North Carolina, to Tennessee then to Arkansas, down to Louisiana then to East Texas and I have done a genealogy dating back to 1611 to this day……in all the photos, stories never was a confederate flag seen or even spoken of….it’s really a small part of our history considering the length of time we have been a nation. Sorry this is so long but your post really got me going….keep on with your wonderful writing, I am so proud of all you are doing.

    t

  11. Cindy Lu says

    July 12, 2015 at 9:25 pm

    Well said and I believe that word is definitely EMPATHY. Loved it!
    Talya’s cuz

    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      July 13, 2015 at 6:27 pm

      Thanks Cindy Lu!

  12. Lou Nell McCraw Davis says

    July 15, 2015 at 9:23 pm

    That is GREAT Talya!! The writing and the viewpoint!

    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      July 16, 2015 at 7:14 am

      Thank you Lou Nell! I appreciate your comment.

  13. Dorothy Johnson says

    July 21, 2015 at 10:18 pm

    Wow! This is one of your best posts. Loved it1

    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      July 22, 2015 at 6:50 am

      Thanks Dorothy:) I appreciate it.

  14. Barbara Tate says

    December 28, 2015 at 10:45 am

    This is one of my favorites.


Hi! I'm Talya Tate Boerner. Writer, Reader, Arkansas Master Naturalist / Master Gardener, Author of

THE ACCIDENTAL SALVATION OF GRACIE LEE (2016)

GENE, EVERYWHERE: a life-changing visit from my father-in-law (2020)

BERNICE RUNS AWAY (2022)

THE THIRD ACT OF THEO GRUENE (coming 2025)

Recent Ramblings:

  • Sunday Letter: May 4, 2025
  • Sunday Letter: Rainy Day Edition
  • Spiderwort: my love-hate relationship
  • Sunday Letter: March 23, 2025
  • Sunday Letter: March 16, 2025

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