What's the most authentic southern state? (largest, bigger, metro, live)

[The Mayor of Mil-Town]

I'm glad to see Mississippi winning this. You know you are in the south when you see the red dirt a comin' Seriouly though I love the people there. They feed you like no other state.

[US-Traveller]

I think South Carolina is the definition of the old south. Charleston to Columbia and up to Greenville it retains much of its old southern heritage.

I think Mississippi is the most stereotypically southern state. It has always been different from the rest of the south.

[virginiasouthern]

Virginia was the capital of dixeland

[CountryFisher]

Mississippi without a doubt. Alabama is second.

My ranking:
Mississippi
Alabama
Georgia
South Carolina
Tennessee
North Carolina
Louisiana
Florida (northern part of state)
Kentucky
Arkansas
Texas
Florida (southern)

[Carlito Brigante]

While Mississippi is definitely one of the most Southern states, I think a lot of folks are just picking it as the MOST Southern because the media always depicts it as that. But being a Southerner myself, I would easily say that Alabama, Georgia, and even parts of South Carolina are way more Southern than Mississippi.

For one, Mississippi is too influenced by Memphis in the northern half of the state and New Orleans in the Southern half of the state to "out South" a state like Alabama that was not only a slave state, but was also the state where Booker T. Washington founded the Tuskegee Institute for Black students post reconstruction, where Dr. King marched on Selma and got jailed in Birmingham, where four little Black girls were killed in a bombing by the Klan, where racist Bull Conner dominated state politics for years, etc. That's why to me, Alabama is the most Southern state hands down.

I think a lot of people voting in this poll are probably from up North or out West and have never really been to Mississippi or throughout other areas of the South before, so they just click next to Mississippi because they've always HEARD it was the most Southern state.

[Carlito Brigante]

Also, as far as Texas goes, it's too big and diverse of a state to ONLY label it a Southern state. East Texas is more Deep South culturally than Mississippi, and Houston and Dallas are huge metropolises that still are full of Southern charm, culture, and staples. ESPECIALLY Houston, where almost everybody smiles and goes out of their way to speak and be helpful. Houston must be the friendliest million+ city in America. But a good rule of thumb about Texas is generally that when you get to Fort Worth and on farther West, you're no longer in the South, and the stereotypical Texas cowboy/desert/Western culture that most non-Texans think of when they think of Texas starts to seep in and overpower the Southern culture, sights and sounds. That's why Fort Worth is nicknamed "Cow Town" and called "The Gateway to the West".

[Spade]

Originally Posted by ShaunJuan

Also, as far as Texas goes, it's too big and diverse of a state to ONLY label it a Southern state. East Texas is more Deep South culturally than Mississippi, and Houston and Dallas are huge metropolises that still are full of Southern charm, culture, and staples. ESPECIALLY Houston, where almost everybody smiles and goes out of their way to speak and be helpful. Houston must be the friendliest million+ city in America. But a good rule of thumb about Texas is generally that when you get to Fort Worth and on farther West, you're no longer in the South, and the stereotypical Texas cowboy/desert/Western culture that most non-Texans think of when they think of Texas starts to seep in and overpower the Southern culture, sights and sounds. That's why Fort Worth is nicknamed "Cow Town" and called "The Gateway to the West".

I don't think I can agree with this. If anything, it's equal but I still don't agree with that either.

[Carlito Brigante]

Originally Posted by Spade

I don't think I can agree with this. If anything, it's equal but I still don't agree with that either.

I'm was born and raised in Memphis, which is literally two minutes away from Mississippi, and I have also lived in East Texas. I definitely say East Texas has a more Deep South feel than Mississippi. The Southern accents are even 10x thicker. First time in my life I couldn't understand what a Southerner was saying due to their accent was in East Texas, and I'm a Southerner myself.

I also saw 10x more Confederate Flags throughout East Texas than I've ever seen anywhere in the entire state of Mississippi, too. In a lot of parts of DEEP East Texas, you see the Confederate flag just as much as you see the Texas state flag, and that's saying something. I'n fact, at times, seeing the Texas state flag waving somewhere or a Texas state trooper drive by was the only thing that reminded me that I was in Texas and not in the middle of rural Southern Mississippi or rural Alabama when I lived in East Texas.

[Mutiny77]

Originally Posted by ShaunJuan

But being a Southerner myself, I would easily say that Alabama, Georgia, and even parts of South Carolina are way more Southern than Mississippi.

Just depends on how one defines "most Southern." As a native SC'er, if you're looking at only the negative traits--poverty, Civil Rights history, etc.--it's hard to see where parts of SC are "way more Southern" than MS. The most depressed parts would be equal to parts of the Delta, the poorest part of MS.

For one, Mississippi is too influenced by Memphis in the northern half of the state and New Orleans in the Southern half of the state to "out South" a state like Alabama that was not only a slave state, but was also the state where Booker T. Washington founded the Tuskegee Institute for Black students post reconstruction, where Dr. King marched on Selma and got jailed in Birmingham, where four little Black girls were killed in a bombing by the Klan, where racist Bull Conner dominated state politics for years, etc. That's why to me, Alabama is the most Southern state hands down.

In terms of Civil Rights history, I consider Alabama and Mississippi to be essentially tied in terms of the negative incidents that occurred in both states; Alabama's just seem to be a little more high profile, especially since Dr. King was deeply involved with segregation efforts there. In Mississippi you had the assassination of Medgar Evers, the murder of Emmett Till, the integration of Ole Miss, and the Mississippi Civil Rights Workers Murders. In terms of present day perceptions, I think what separates Alabama from Mississippi is the fact that it's more urbanized. Mississippi doesn't have an answer for Birmingham, a metro of 1.2 million; Huntsville, which has the highest per capita concentration of engineers in the country; or Mobile, with a large port and huge manufacturing outfits (ThyssenKrupp, Airbus). Alabama also appears to get more recreational tourism with its beaches and golf courses.

[Kamms]

Might have to go with Mississippi since as recent as this past election night, when Obama was reelected, white students staged anti-Obama demonstrations at Ole Miss.