Bless Your Heart 

A series of photographs, prints and films by Rebekah Flake 

On February 23, 2019, demonstrations were held in Oxford, Mississippi, by two Neo-Confederate groups from out-of-state. They met at the Civil War memorial on the town square for a demonstration and then marched in procession to a similar statue on the campus of The University of Mississippi (a.k.a. Ole Miss.) Their flags and rebel yells were met by the posters and chants of local residents and students standing in opposition. All were surrounded by media and law enforcement. Larger crowds were kept at bay by an active tornado warning, washed-out roads and a boil-water directive caused by relentless downpours in the preceding days. I grew up in this town and am currently a faculty member in the University's art department. This conversation has been going on for as long as I can remember, but it is now on full display in our public spaces, echoing the national battle over monuments to the Confederacy. This campus is considered a last hold-out for Confederate values, and the athletes still play under the name Rebels. Many students and faculty of color vacated the University the day of the demonstration in fear for their safety. The tension was as thick as the humidity. In the following months the students and faculty voted to remove the statue from the heart of the University to the Confederate Cemetery at the outskirts of campus.