Winston-Salem City Council member James Taylor is backing off his suggestion that the name of the upcoming Dixie Classic Fair be changed because, well, you know:
Taylor said during Monday’s meeting of the city finance committee that he doesn’t like the name of the fair, and said the city should consider selling naming rights as a way of better marketing it. After the meeting, Taylor called the word “Dixie” a divisive reminder of the Confederacy that the city should reconsider. He said that there are other council members who are in favor of changing the name, but said public input was needed before making a change.
Taylor said Wednesday he was speaking on behalf of some city residents who said the name bothered them. After the Journal reported his suggestion on Monday, Taylor said he heard from another contingent.
“At first, I was just hearing from one side, and now, I’m hearing from both,” he said. “I have been extremely taken aback by the volume of the commentary. And I would like to see people be more civil as a society and respect other people’s opinions.”
Winston-Salem Journal provides a brief history of the fair’s evolving name changes, starting with the Forsyth County Wheat Fair in 1882. The change to “Dixie Classic Livestock Exposition” came in the late ’50s, as an attempt to “make it sound bigger and give it a regional, rather than local, flavor,” according to a local historian.
