On Saturday, President-elect Donald Trump was welcomed back to the city of Mobile ahead of his “Thank You” rally at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. However, a customary appearance from a group of teenage girls has drawn media attention after the they came under fire thanks to ignorant online trolls.
The controversy surrounds the Azalia Trail Maids, who appeared in bright, ruffled antebellum dresses to welcome Trump on the tarmac of the Brookley Aeroplex. They were joined by Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions and Governor Robert Bentley.
“Presumably the Confederate Battle Flag is just off camera,” one Twitter user said.
“Only thing missing are the slaves,” another said.
Even Melissa Holmes from AL.com joined in, tweeting, “Sometimes, Alabama is just what you think it is.”
The Azalea Trail Maids are a group of fifty high school seniors chosen yearly to serve as the “Official Ambassadors” for the city of Mobile, Alabama. Established in 1929, the young women’s organization often makes state and national appearances in honor of Southern hospitality.
Events the group has appeared in include the presidential inaugural parades of Barack Obama and Georgia W. Bush, Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, the nationally televised Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City, Disney’s Easter Parade in Orlando, Florida, the Philadelphia Thanksgiving Day Parade, the Chicago Christmas Parade, the Indianapolis 500 parade, and more.
It’s not the first time the group has endured hostility from ignorant onlookers.
WKRG points out that the Azalea Trail Maids were slated to appear in President Obama’s 2009 inauguration parade in Washington, D.C., though the president of Alabama’s NAACP attempted to block their participation. At the time, he claimed that the girls’ costume represented “a plantation in Gone with the Wind.” The civil rights group eventually issued an apology after Sam Jones, Mobile’s first African-American mayor, defended the group.
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