When the Alabama Azalea Trail Maids were accepted as one of  60 groups to march in the Inaugural Parade, the high school seniors were thrilled, even though they’ll be marching in their traditional dresses that weigh over 50lbs each.

It was those pastel dresses in shades of baby maize, petal peach, baby blue, light orchid, light aqua, with the queen in pink that caused quite a ruckus the past week. And not because the freakishly garish polyester confections with matching lace gloves and parasols are how a bride punishes her bridesmaids by being thinner than she is, either.

On Thursday Eddie Vaughn, president of the Alabama NAACP, said in a phone interview:

These are not just regular costumes. These are the costumes that remind someone of the plantation in Gone with the Wind.

A controversy arose when Vaugh told the Montgomery Advertiser he was disappointed that no part of the state’s African-American community, like one of the marching bands from the historically colleges Tuskegee University or Alabama State University, was chosen to march in the parade since Alabama was so pivotal in the civil rights movement. He told the Advertiser:

Seems to me there’d be something better than that. With an antebellum representation there, I’m thinking Alabama will be a laughing stock. I think that, along with the Azalea Trail Maids, would have been a better representation — to show we have all come together as one, and that we are together as a people united.

The Trail Maids are the only group from Alabama marching in the Inaugural parade. The city and county of Mobile, along with local media, responded a tad defensively with dismay and outrage (mainly the latter) to Vaughn’s remarks, pointing out that the the group is integrated. Mobile County Commissioner Stephen Nodine said:

We want everyone to know that these young ladies do not need to be identified with slavery,

while Carolyn Tius, a resident of Montgomery commented:

I don’t see what the dresses have to do with racism. I don’t see it. It’s just a regular dress to me. Just a dress they wore back in the day.

Vaughn now says he believes some media outlets took a portion of a comments out of context changing the meaning of his statement, and that contrary to some news reports, he never suggested that the Maids should be excluded from the parade. He regrets the comments have caused problems for the group, and apologized for his "laughing stock" remark, telling  the Dothan Eagle:

I did say that, and I apologize for that. I shouldn’t have said it.

But Vaughn does stand firm on his original point, explaining:

 All I meant was that the image of the antebellum costumes was a drawback, and to balance that out, I thought the state should have a representation of the civil rights movement, because this is where it all started.