Associated Press
1 Oct, 2003
Declining Number of People Living in the South Identify with Title of 'Southerner'
FRANKLIN, Tenn. -- Relaxing on the verandah of a refurbished
Victorian home turned tea room, Dot
Fleming nibbled coconut pie and extolled the virtues of life in the South.
"It's just an easier, more relaxed lifestyle, with friendly people, home-cooking
and big families," said
the 55-year-old Fleming, whose family has lived in this affluent town south
of Nashville since the early
1900s.
A new Vanderbilt University study found that the number of people like Fleming,
who are fiercely proud
to be called Southerners, is being noticeably diluted by newcomers and those
who just plain reject the
label.
From 1991 to 2001, the number of people living in the South who identified
themselves as "Southerners"
declined 7.4 percent, from about 78 percent to 70 percent.
The study found that only Republicans, political conservatives and the wealthy
bucked this trend,
keeping the same percentage of self-described "Southerners."
"As with other parts of the country, continuing urbanization and immigration
have had an impact on the
South," said sociology professor Larry Griffin, who headed the study.
The researchers analyzed data from 19 polls conducted by the University of
North Carolina from 1991-2001
that asked respondents if they considered themselves Southerners. The findings
will be included in the
article "Enough About the Disappearing South -- What About the Disappearing
Southerner?" as part of the
fall edition of Southern Cultures, the journal of UNC's Center for the Study
of the American South.
The polls surveyed 17,600 people in 13 states -- Alabama, Arkansas, Florida,
Georgia, Kentucky,
Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee,
Texas and Virginia.
The decline spanned all races, ethnic and age groups, researchers said. But Republicans held steady at about 74 percent, political conservatives at 78 percent and the rich at 69 percent.
"Though the South has changed (over the decade), those three groups still
see themselves as in the South or of the South," Griffin said. "For
persons of color, the poor, for political liberals or Democrats, it may
be an image they reject."
As for Fleming, she said she understands why conservatives continue to classify
themselves as
Southerners.
"In general, when you're conservative, you don't like change," said
Fleming, who says she's probably in the
upper middle class financially and neither conservative nor liberal.
Elouise North, a 79-year-old gift shop manager at Carter House, describes herself
as both a Southerner
and a conservative.
"It's a way of life," she said. "You don't rush things too much
here. In my generation, you weren't rude, you
had manners, you said 'Yes, ma'am' and 'No, ma'am."'
North was born in Gallatin, 25 miles northeast of Nashville, but moved to Franklin
44 years ago after
she married. During that time, she says she's seen so many new people move here
that "it's no wonder" the
number of self-described Southerners has dropped.