Confederate Railroad, a prolific and popular southern country-rock band, has been removed from the lineup at the Du Quoin State Fair in Illinois due to their name.
The decision was made by the state Department of Agriculture according to a statement in response to very little public outcry, creating a controversy where there had previously been none.
“The Illinois Department of Agriculture has removed Confederate Railroad from our 2019 Du Quoin State Fair Grandstand lineup,” State Fair Manager Josh Gross said.
“While every artist has a right to expression, we believe this decision is in the best interest of serving all the people in our state,” he added.
I have played the @DuQuoinFair many times over the decades … however, I must say that canceling @ConfederateRR JUST because their name is CONFEDERATE RAILROAD is a crock of crap!!! These are good men singing good songs… God please help us all … pic.twitter.com/EG32tCPbMC
— Joe Bonsall (@joebonsall) July 5, 2019
The Pinckneyville Press first reported on the ban, adding the assessment that it was due to “racial sensitivity concerns.”
The band has been active since 1987 and during that time has seen over twenty of their singles enter the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts.
Why the Controversy?
Reports suggest the move was made due to an inquiry made by a local political blogger named Rich Miller who asked a ‘Question of the Day‘ for Capitol Fax on June 17th.
“A band named Confederate Railroad. In Illinois. The Land of Lincoln. Playing at a state-owned facility,” Miller said aghast. “I’ve never heard anyone claim that the group has Confederacy-loving song lyrics or anything … It’s just… well… Allow me to turn this one over to you…”
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Miller also notes the band has a song called “I Hate Rap” (which clearly means they’re racist) and that the group’s latest album features Confederate flags on the cover.
Saving Country Music writes however, “Confederate Railroad has no songs that could be considered or construed as racist.”
“The band has never been accused of making a racist comment,” they add. “Being disallowed to play a government-organized event and venue simply because of their name and after being approved opens up a slippery slope of concerns for the future of free speech in musical performance and beyond.”
Backlash
Confederate Railroad’s peers have come out in support of the band, declaring the decision to remove them from the lineup to be ridiculous.
Joe Bonsall of the Oak Ridge Boys stated: “Canceling Confederate Railroad JUST because their name is CONFEDERATE RAILROAD is a crock of crap!!! These are good men singing good songs … God please help us all.”
Country music legend Charlie Daniels chimed in as well.
This political correctness thing is totally out of control
When a fair cancels the Confederate Railroad band because of their name its giving in to facism, plain and simple and our freedom disappears piece by piece.
Sick of it.— Charlie Daniels (@CharlieDaniels) July 6, 2019
The triggered left won’t rest until every reference to our country’s history is erased because they find it offensive. Ignorance is bliss, apparently.
We can stop all this pathetic lying sewer slime liberal BS by voting every liberal out
of office. There political correctness and woke BS belongs in the garbage just like
they do.
WHAT A LOAD OF CRAP!
illinious is racist to do this, they do what ever democrats want i have been there 1 time didn’t like it because of their views won’t go back look at chicago what a mess thus illinious is a mess. i love confederate railroad waited in line at a concert for 2 hours to get their names on a confederate flag bandana which is framed and hanging in my bedroom love them
The stupid Confederate Rednecks still haven’t realized that they lost the Civil War. The rest of the United States has to subsidize the Southern States, because they cannot do it themselves! Either you are a confederate, or you are an American! You cannot be both!
Not one bit surprised at this now. We have to speak out against outrages like this one, because it is a bunch of little intellectuals silliness. The leftists are not careful what they want and we must protect them from ever getting it.
Don’t just flap your gums…DO IT….Donald can use all the help he can get….
Never heard of Country Railroad. I’ll have to buy some of their music to get to know them.
Blacks owned slaves.https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/facts-about-slavery/
Racial division—fostering it, is their only raison d’etre. They have no positive policy, only negativism. And that is the most racist of attitudes, that minorities are too stupid not to realise when they are being used or that they cannot succeed without patronising handouts/ positive discrimination.
No one should attend this fair if the sponsors are this STUPID
The stupid Confederate Rednecks still haven’t realized that they lost the Civil War. The rest of the United States has to subsidize the Southern States, because they cannot do it themselves!
its no wonder people are leaving that frigged up state !!!
Insane. Just ridiculous! What? We can’t learn from the Civil War, now? Is that history to be purged too?
The group should take out a full page ad in local newspapers explaining why they were banned from participating and then cross Illinois off for any future shows. Wouldn’t want them to upset anyone there.
Learn to write Glow…try using some periods.
THis is too much. If I lived there I wouldn’t go to that fair. The people there must be way over the top. Let them have their fair minus some really good music!!!!!
VOTE BLUE Make America Sane Again. Cause 60 years of the RACIST make everyone poor so GOP can control the World has got to go !
BRAVO ! Nothing conderate should be endorsed. Conderate equals slavery butaly a way of Life long gone out of fashion.
Everything offends me even the Du Quoin State Fair in Illinois. More crap from the left.
Lord am I glad I left that crap hole when I was 19 and never looked back!
they will probably be next , now that you have planted the idea in their sick brainless heads ~
The State Fair Manager is obviously a buffoon. Hope the band still gets paid. They should just take their money and leave Obama territory. Any one who still believes in our country and free speech, should just not attend. I know I wouldn’t. Now you see why Trump wants to make America great again—great where you can just go to a fair and listen to music, eat, laugh and not have to hear all the crazies who don’t have a life or purpose so they have to stir up trouble for everyone else.
CENSOR CENSOR CENSOR is this what the left has come to? My thoughts to the left is to grab your ears, jump up in the air and go POP so that you can get your heads out of your A$$es
This happens wen Socialists, Atheist, Communists, Queers ,Transgenders are put in Charge
What a crock! I hate rap also, but I dont hate blacks. I don’t care much for mariachi music either but that doesn’t mean I hate central America. Good people from Illinois should boycott this state fair and make a statement.
If the state politicos paid more attention to the murder rate in Chicago, which is predominantly black on black violence, they wouldn’t have any time to deal with this bull$hit.
Thank you DQ Fair. You just made this relatively obscure band a household name. People are out buying the albums as we speak. Maybe you can just make the entertainment all rap bands. You can get alot of the thugs and gangster’s out of Chiraq to come down. Just make sure everyone is wearing body armor.
This what liberals & Democrats do. Destroy the country. Started with Obama . And I am glad hes gone and Trump is in office.
This is a disgrace to our rights and the state of Illinois should be a shamed of themselves. There is nothing wrong with the bands name and these fanatics with their racism, and civil liberties crap need to stop this way of thinking. this just disgust me. Well I guess we will all have to suffer because of the way Americans (not all) think these days…GOD HELP US.
One must first erase real history before they can rewrite it.
State Fair Manager Josh Gross said.“While every artist has a right to expression, we believe this decision is in the best interest of serving all the people in our state,”. That,s an outright lie because it does not serve my best interests and I live here. Advertise them as the C Railroad if that will make you happy, but let them perform. How dare you pretend to know what’s in my best interest!
So? What exactly does that have to do with them playing or not playing? Or are you trying to imply that you’re the arbitrator of the entertainment of the Illinois State Fair?
GreenAir;; One of the biggest slave holders in the USA was black himself.
What we are experiencing is the aftermath of the Obama administration.. Obama was and is a base born Kenyan who usurped the presidency thru fraud and deceit.
Sorry but the band has been around over 20 yrs
Lots of music for the country people. Give Rock and Roll and country any day over this crap they have today.
LOL
What a load of crap!
I never heard of them before this article.
so sick of PC crap. If ppl wonder why there are still race issues – it just might be because the left / Dems won’t let it die and keep stoking the coals to keep it going.
Some people have WAY TOOO much free time. Perhaps getting a job would help Rich Miller find some constructive direction and the ability to prioritize what is and what is not important.
Maybe if they (the band) would down grade women and use dirty words. Is this the same that charge double for everyone except the blacks that are poor,what do I know ,I don’t go to concerts.
The German people allowed a small minority to take over their politics and were led directly into tryanny and death. The same is happening right now, right here. Human nature being what it is the only solution that has ever stopped this process is the total elimination of those directly in control of the fascist movement.
Kinda curious. How do we go about removing confederate and Dixie from the dictionary. That’s the next steps. Guess Dixie Chicks aren’t invited either
What if a band called themselves “blue lives matter”? Would they be banned? What then of a band called “black lives”? Or “sons of Muhammad”?
The ONLY ones who are “Offended” are the “PUPPETS” for the Left Liberal Socialist Communist Muslim Cartels! These “PUPPET’S” think they’re important to the BIG power who initiated it first through the Puppet President! He was bought and paid for just like these newbies are! These Puppets are being USED like cheap toilet tissue to keep the REAL villains from being identified! As if we can’t figure out WHO, WHY, and how their depraved, evil, mad and ANTI- America agenda works! WE don’t have to worry about their hidden goals! God has dealt with rabid radicals like these since time began! He’s got plans that would make THEIRS look like hop-scotch lines in a flood zone! He’s revealing their HATE and DEMONIC actions every day! The darker their deeds the more light he shines on them! Look up the word; “Omnipresent”!
The left has been instituting fascism little by little. Soon it will be too late to turn back if it isn’t put to a stop ASAP.
The best part is that when the history of slavery, (which Confederate Railroad has nothing to do with), is erased, then IT NEVER HAPPENED. That is the goal of the democrats, as every single slave was owned by a democrat. Not a single slave was owned by a Republican. Facts are facts.
This is what one gets when liberals are allowed to attain positions of power. What we need is more adults and less of these self important, narcissistic, low IQ liberals anywhere near a position that involves decision making. Liberalism is a dangerous mental disorder.
No, “racial OVERSENSITIVITY !”
There are several good reasons why people are fleeing Illinois in droves. And the state kowtowing to one liberal blogger just added to that ever-lengthening list.
I’m confused. IS Illinois a red state or isn;t it? I don;t know who’s red and who’s blue anymore!
sorry … meant to reply to a Citizen
they will probably be next , now that you have planted the idea in their sick brainless heads ~
This assinine state has totally lost it’s PC mind. Screw the state fair and NOBODY should attend, ust to show support for the sensible people of the state. What does Gov. porky pritzzzer have to say about this anyway ?
…and how about those ‘white socks’ ?
This is over the top and creating more division than needed we are going tooo far
I do not like rap that has undesirable language entainers who were pants way below their waste and expose underwear oh yes if they have skulls on their shirts I find that racist and abusive so do you stop them from a performance the conderate flag is part of our history destroy our history you will distroy our country the flag is not racist it represents the south and what they stood for and wanted to be their own nation! that is history Miller all you did was put more division in our country shame shame we do not need anymore of this!