mY spEcial imaGe

Image: What does it really represent?

Recently, I attended a street festival located downtown Atlanta – the Sweet Auburn Festival. Auburn Avenue, best known as the home of the Martin Luther King Center for Non-Violence, hosts the Sweet Auburn Festival twice a year, in the spring and in the fall. The street festival is a time for the city to come together and celebrate culture and heritage in that good old fashioned way of southern hospitality. You will find music, food, art, health and fitness, wellness seminars, and local vendors sharing their gifts and talents. “Annie Bell Auburn” is the mascot for the event – the image chosen to represent Atlanta’s southern hospitality at its finest. A few weeks ago when I attended the festival was my first encounter with Annie and I must say, the introduction has left a lasting impression.
The message of this image is quite simple, she is to represent what typical, southern mothers and grandmothers of the south are, or should I say, once were. Fifty to a hundred years ago, southern mothers and grandmothers were primarily homemakers that cooked and cleaned for their families. These women took care of their families in an amazing way. Their job or work WAS their families; nothing like the norm for families today. In today’s society, most mothers are working and unfortunately, quite a few grandmothers are still in the work force. A good, southern, home cooked meal is most times a luxury in our houses only on Sundays or special occasions. Yet, what I saw represented at the Sweet Auburn Festival was “Annie” at her best; dressed in a white skirt and blouse with a red and white checkerboard apron wrapped around her. Her hair tied up in a neat bun and a huge smile on her face as if she was ready to service with her whole heart.
Not only was the mascot posted on billboards and signs all around the Sweet Auburn Festival, but there was an actual woman dressed as “Annie” walking around the streets and taking pictures with the visitors. At first this whole thing seemed so corny to me and my friends and I laughed hysterically at the image. But in all actuality, this southern image made my experience that day all the better because it offered me a sense of hope and encouragement. Encouragement to remember when I have a family to put it first and not become so busy and caught up in making money and having success that I forget what my role as a wife and mother should really be.
Upon receiving this assignment, I immediately thought of “Annie” and her representation of the south because I am from the north. One of the reasons I chose Atlanta, Georgia as my new home for my collegiate studies is because of the reputation the south has for southern hospitality. There are certain foods I can obtain in Atlanta that I would never be introduced to in Washington; such as, banana pecan pancakes or chicken and waffles in the same setting. When I looked at the mascot of the festival, it made me smile because it reminded me of the newness of this part of the land that I now call home. A home filled with good food, good fun, and good people!