What exactly was Ramey's contribution to the local and regional culture? What was once a local event would become a nationally known affair under Ramey's direction. First, he helped organize his vision, and that of rose growers and the supportive business community, into something glorious, complete with a debutante ball, celebrated queens, and their large courts for the white elite, including rose growers. Parades and other fares would invite the rest of the town to participate, except for black people. It is important to remember that this event was born at the height of Jim Crow, America's racial caste system. This legacy will haunt the festival to the present day.

It was a matter of Southern theological pride to be among the slave-owning class, and it was supported by “the overwhelming majority of churches and ministers” in the South, especially in Tyler, Texas. Southerners engaged in “the white man’s burden” or the “Lord’s work” would soon be stunned by the defeat of the Confederacy and the end of their way of life. “And so after the Civil War Blacks and whites simply went their separate ways,” Texas College professor of history and religion Edward J. Robinson says. “It’s called de facto segregation.”