Mobile- a city that many visitors and natives, including myself, know and love. The aspect of the city that draws so many people is its rich history and the many traditions rooted in that history, from Mardi Gras to high school football and anywhere in between. One of these wonderful traditions of Mobile's historical culture is the Azalea Trail Maid Court.
In the late 1920's, the Azalea Trail was created to make Mobile beautiful, and a little over five years later, a court of maids was created to appear at the annual opening ceremony for this trail. This court drew the attention of many women from all over. Because of its popularity, the Azalea Trail Mail Court was limited to 50 high school senior girls in Mobile, and the scholarship program, America's Junior Miss (now Distinguished Young Women), was created to include young women outside of the Mobile area. (AL.com)
Each year, a new group of junior girls are interviewed and selected to serve as an Azalea Trail Maid the following year. These girls are smart, diverse, elegant, and poised, and are a beautiful representation of Mobile. It is truly an honor and privilege to be chosen, and so many look up to them. They are ambassadors for the the city and know about Mobile's wonderful history. The trail maids have appeared at numerous events in Mobile and other cities in Alabama, the Easter Parade in Disney World, the inauguration of Barack Obama, the list goes on and on. These incredible young ladies have represented Mobile well in so many ways and are a part of the city's tradition that has gone on for decades, so why wouldn't they be chosen to help welcome the president of our country as he arrives in their hometown?
I love Mobile and all of its history and wonderful traditions that help make it so unique, so I was disappointed to see how a simple picture could cause such negative feelings toward this tradition. I was truly appalled to see how these negative feelings shared on Facebook, Twitter, etc. The 17 and 18 year-old girls who exemplify intelligence, radiance, and southern charm were described as embarrassing and disgusting to the city. There were also many distasteful comments made towards these young women that I have no desire to mention.
Other comments refer to the Trail Maid's dresses, stating that the styles have direct ties to the idea of slavery. The dresses are in no way meant to represent that terrible part of our nation's history. The current times are much different, and is even represented by the Trail Maids. The girls selected to be a part of this organization are not selected because of their race, but are chosen by their interview skills, involvement, and GPA. The diversity within the Azalea Trail Maid Court is truly apparent. This aspect of the organization has seemed to be overlooked by those making these ignorant comments and calling the Trail Maids racist.
I do not know if those who made these negative comments truly knew the significance and value of the Azalea Trail Maids or not. It truly is upsetting to see how such an honorable and outstanding organization is being misconstrued as one that is outdated and demeaning. The role of the Trail Maids is to serve as ambassadors of Mobile, to embody the southern charm that the city has, and to represent the wonderful traditions of Mobile. The girls who appeared at Trump's arrival were simply doing these things as they were chosen to do, and deserved to be the ones to welcome such an important figure in our nation's history.
