Kenny Wayne Shepherd has had his nomination for Blues Rock Artist of the Year at the Blues Music Awards rescinded over his past use of Confederate flag imagery.
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The Blues Foundation made the decision to rescind Shepherd’s nomination over “continuing revelations of representations of the Confederate flag on Shepherd’s ‘General Lee’ car, guitars and elsewhere,” Billboard reports.
Additionally, the Blues Foundation has asked his father, Ken Shepherd, to step down as a member of its board of directors.
Years ago, Shepherd purchased a Dodge Charger and built it into a replica of the “General Lee” car from The Dukes of Hazzard, which features a Confederate Flag on the roof. He also has posed with a guitar featuring the logo and the custom-car, which he called the “Xtreme Lee.”
Shepherd issued a lengthy statement to Variety addressing the Blues Foundation’s decision to rescind his nomination. “I have just learned that the Executive Committee of the Blues Foundation Board of Directors has made the decision to rescind my nomination for the 2021 Blues Rock Artist of the Year award. We have been told this decision has been made because In recent days, concerns have been raised regarding one of the cars in my muscle car collection,” he said.
“The car was built 17 years ago as a replica and homage to the iconic car in the television series ‘The Dukes of Hazzard,’ he continued. “That CBS show was one of the highest rated and most popular programs of its era and like millions of others, I watched it every week. In the show, one of the central ‘characters’ was a muscle car which displayed a confederate flag on its roof. Years ago I put that car in permanent storage and some time ago, I made the decision to permanently cover the flag on my car because it was completely against my values and offensive to the African American community which created the music I love so much and I apologize to anyone that I have unintentionally hurt because of it.”
He concluded, “I want to make something very clear and unequivocal; I condemn and stand in complete opposition to all forms of racism and oppression and always have.”
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