Utah Sites Moving Away From The 'Dixie' Name Leaving Locals Split

Some sites and institutions in Southern Utah are veering away from the 'Dixie' name due to its ties with the confederacy.

Dixie Regional Medical Center will be renamed in 2021 and the Dixie State University could be next is the legislation passes the bill.

According to KUER, there are several efforts in the community to keep the names.

Tony Blanchard, one of the leaders of the Defending Southwestern Utah Heritage Coalition, knows that it will be a continuous battle to "stand up for Dixie" as the coalition's motto states.

Blanchard said that he hopes that the southern Utah legislators will listen to their constituents.

He stated, "We don't have a lot of representation in southern Utah. The hope is that the legislators will stand up and the majority of them (have) appeared to."

The area in Southern Utah was nicknamed Dixie by settlers with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Many of the settlers were from the south and trued to make it into a cotton-growing mecca.

Supports say that the name is important to the area's heritage and is separate from the history of slavery.

Efforts across the country to remove monuments, names, and other Confederate symbols have intensified during the nation's reckoning over racial injustice this year.

Photo: Getty Images

Source: KSL