Dixie is sung frequently just about everywhere in the US. I've never been shy about playing it or singing it. Like any other song, of course; there's a time and place ...

There are also a very large number of blacks in the US who celebrate their Confederate heritage. And they are vocal supporters.

I once played a festival in Louisiana and finished by concert there with a song about a young Confederate daughter who was accidentally killed by a Yankee cannon barrage. She was cared for by her black nanny. After my show was over a black man who worked at the venue came to talk to me for a while about the story. He told me a bit about his family and their experience during the war - after a few minutes I realized the ball cap he wore had a confederate battle flag embroidered on the front. I commented on it and he said, pointing to the flag, "That's my heritage! I had black ancestors and white ancestors that fought for that flag!"

The Civil War is not simply black and white, and most of us who've studied know that there are many shades, many stories and many sides. I've read the personal accounts of several slaves who picked up rifles, joined the with the Confederate infantry and killed Yankees. Some didn't question the reason why, others were simply loyal to their master's side. If we simply look today with our own judgment of the issues, and fail to understand the human side of black/white relations, they times and the way people lived and loyalties they had - we will miss so much.