Kenny Wayne Shepherd withdrew his nomination for the Blues Music Award in 2021 as Best Blues / Rock Artist by the Blues Foundation because of the Confederate flag images Shepherd has used in the past. In a statement, the Foundation said it was taking the decision on the basis of ‘continuous revelations of the Confederate flag’s performances on Shepherd’s’ General Lee’ car, guitars and elsewhere, such as Billboard reports.
A few days ago, the foundation issued a statement against racism following public criticism of Shepherd and his use of the Confederate flag on a muscle wagon that painted the flag on it, as a tribute to the TV show. The Dukes Of Hazzard. They did not name Shepherd by name in the statement, but did write:
The Blues Foundation unequivocally condemns all forms and expressions of racism, including all symbols associated with white supremacy and the decline of coloreds. We will hold ourselves as well as all blues musicians, fans, organizations and members of the music industry responsible for racist actions and encourage concrete commitments to acknowledge and correct the resulting pain.
They followed it up today by removing Shepherd’s name from the battle for the list of nominations for the awards program. Shepherd replied with his own statement:
I just heard that the Executive Committee of the Blues Foundation Board of Directors has made the decision to revoke my nomination for the Blues Rock Artist of the Year award in 2021.
We have been informed that this decision has been made, as concerns have been expressed over the past few days about one of the cars in my muscle car collection. The car was built 17 years ago as a replica and tribute to the iconic car in the television series The Dukes of Hazzard. That CBS show was one of the most acclaimed and popular shows 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 displaying a Confederate flag on the roof. Years ago I put the car in permanent storage and a while ago I decided to cover the flag on my car permanently because it was completely against my values and insulting to the African American community who love the music I love so much created apologizing to someone for hurting me unintentionally.
I want to make something very clear and unambiguous; I condemn and fully oppose all forms of racism and oppression and have always done so.
As Variety points out, while Shepherd says he retired the car years ago, members of the blues community say he recently posted photos and videos of the car on social media. Shepherd has been interviewed about the car before, also in 2015 Wall Street Journal profile, to which he responds: “I get thumbs up from everyone, regardless of race. The African-American community created the music I play; racism is not part of my DNA. ”
The Blues Foundation also asked Kenny Wayne Shepherd’s father, Ken Shepherd, to step down from his position as a member of the board of directors.