Wednesday, January 14, 2009

The Azalea Trail Maids and Edward Vaughn

With all due respect, I think Edward Vaughn, Alabama's NAACP President, is loony.

Video.

It's ridiculous for Vaughn to object to the Azalea Trail Maids. This group has been around for nearly 60 years.

Where has Vaughn been with his objections? Why now?

"These are not just regular costumes. These are the costumes that remind someone of the plantation in Gone with the Wind," Edward Vaughn said in a phone interview.

Vaughn went on to say the group would be the laughing stock of the Inauguration.

Good grief.

It's not as if the Azalea Trail Maids will be marching in the Inaugural parade wearing KKK garb or carrying Confederate flags.

As far as their costumes go, hoop skirts weren't only worn in the South in the 1800s. Such dresses are worn even today, at weddings. And parasols weren't an outgrowth of slavery. They've been used by women around the world for centuries.

In addition, the Trail Maids are a diverse group. Thirty-nine of the girls are white and eleven are minorities.

This is a controversy that shouldn't be.

If the costumes remind Vaughn of slavery, that's his problem.

Vaughn is the laughing stock here.

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