We didn’t see the caves coming. On our first day of our Mississippi road trip in May 2018 to talk to people about why they fly the Confederate flag, Kate Medley and I were having trouble finding flags in yards. In fact, we were driving up and down Jefferson Davis Street in Greenwood, which seemed an obvious place to start, peering inside open garages from the street to see if we could spot either a Mississippi or Confederate flag. But, nada.
As soon as we arrived for our nearby appointment with Larry McCluney Jr., he ushered us immediately into his attic, which was filled with Confederate items—even a North-vs.-South chess set, among his ancestors’ photos, Confederate flag curtains, re-enactor costumes, books and Civil War Stratego game. We were surrounded by more Confederate emblems than we could take in all at once.