By Colin Woodward

A girl in Tennessee named Texanna Edwards (not Tennesseanna?), pictured above, wore a custom made Confederate battle flag to her prom. Her school told her she couldn’t wear it and wouldn’t let her dance inside. That must have been particularly rough when “Free Bird” came on. But, don’t feel so bad, girlfriend, you’re young. And I believe you when you say you wore it because the dress “looked cool.” Your parents probably felt the same way about big hair and shoulder pads in the 80s. My prom wasn’t so hot either; and I didn’t have the excuse of being punished for celebrating my “heritage.” This weekend, we’ll drink some Soco and fire a few rounds into backroad stop signs in your honor.

Colin Woodward is a historian and archivist. He is the author of Marching Masters, Slavery, Race, and the Confederate Army during the Civil War (University of Virginia Press, 2014). He is writing a second book on Johnny Cash.