The story of one of the nation’s most enduring anthems began during the Civil War, when the poet and activist Julia Ward Howe visited Washington, D.C. And in the 1950s, it was sung by white women protesting the integration of schools in Arkansas and elsewhere.” 'The Battle Hymn of the Republic' “It was embraced by the segregationist Dixiecrats in the 1940s. “‘Dixie’ was part of the score of Birth of a Nation, the movie that helped revive the Ku Klux Klan,” writer Tony Horwitz told NPR in 2018. Years after the war concluded, “Dixie” was embraced by white southerners seeking to revive the idyllic image of the Confederacy, along with white supremacy in the South. The song became a popular hit before it was appropriated by the Confederacy as a patriotic anthem during the Civil War, with even President Lincoln later praising it as “one of the best tunes I have ever heard.” Daniel Emmett originally penned "Dixie" in Ohio in 1859 as the concluding number for a minstrel show. These performances, which were demeaning to African Americans, were a popular form of entertainment at the time and featured white performers, donned in blackface, acting out scenes of Southern life. Ironically, the most enduring song linked to the former Confederacy was written by a Northern composer. READ MORE: 6 Black Heroes of the Civil War The Legacy of 'Dixie'
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