A gutsy South Carolina governor would have refused to allow women at the Citadel, even after the court order. States should reassert their sovereignty and defy the federal government. OK, so I'm a radical extremist. I admit it. But my suggestion is not original.
Real patriotism is love of home.
America is an abstraction. It is not culturally coherent. Your family, friends and community are not an abstraction. They should be defending their own backyards. It may not be the issue you'd expect to see African Americans and Southern heritage groups agreeing on.