Southern Culture at the Crossroads: Presenting the South at the Centennial Olympic Games

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Southern Culture at the Crossroads: Presenting the South at the Centennial Olympic Games

by George Holt
Southern Cultures, Vol. 3, No. 3: Sports in the South

"A culture clash occurs when traditional music, dance, and crafts meet southern city boosters at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta."

Atlanta has been a city on the move throughout its history, restless, seeking distinction and grandeur, and ever reinventing itself in the process. Far from destroying the railhead community of 10,000 during the Civil War, General William Tecumseh Sherman unleashed a relentless spirit of enterprise and civic boosterism that continues today. It is hard to imagine a pursuit better suited to the city’s ambitions than the capture of the Centennial Olympic Games. Who could argue that Atlanta was anything but a world-class city with such a glorious prize in hand?

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