Anything to do with the old south has been hijacked by blacks as racist. Most have not even the slightest idea of southern heritage or history. It's more about reaffirming the victim mentality.
The sad part is that the KKK got involved. They may be one of the last groups to stand for white rights, but their history has not been one of encouragement. So once again, another misconstrued aspect of southern heritage goes down due to the perpetual victim game.
OM, by becoming the rebels to begin with started this ball rolling many years ago. But at that time, who knew that the term "rebel" would eventually be seen as racist also. Give it a few more years and it too will be gone.
I guess they will soon be known as the Ole Miss Politically Correct Southern Gentlemenpeople.