If you’re recognizing Faulkner as a genius, then we just have left:
-The troublesome eugenics attitudes about Australians;
-The implication that Harvard students/profs have Boston accents AND are geniuses;
-The blithe attitude that NYC has “way more smart and creative people than most of the South,” which is simultaneously provincial and (I’d argue) steeped in racist and classist assumptions; and
-The lack of awareness of California accents.
As I said, I don’t think we’re gonna be much in agreement here. But that’s okay. I’ve known plenty of Southerners who exploit anti-Southern condescension to their advantage. When people underestimate you, it makes it easy and fun to outmaneuver them.
Edit: although I’m curious as to your thoughts about Martin Luther King, Jr. There’s a good case that his “I Have a Dream” speech is the most famous speech ever given in English, and it was to a significant degree extemporized.