Confederate Heritage Month!
provided by the:
Georgia Division of The Sons of Confederate Veterans
Confederate History and Heritage Month Committee

ATLANTA — In a cultural war that has pitted Old South against new, defenders of the Confederate legacy have opened a fresh front in their campaign to polish an image tarnished, they said, by people who do not respect Southern values.

With the 150th anniversary of the War Between the States in 2011, efforts are under way in statehouses, small towns and counties across the South to push for proclamations or legislation promoting Confederate history.

In recent years, Alabama, Mississippi, Texas and Louisiana have issued proclamations or passed legislation recognizing April as Confederate History Month. Georgia, which has recognized it by proclamation since 1995, recently passed a bill in the state Senate making it official.

Most Southern states recognize Confederate Memorial Day as a legal holiday. Some celebrate it on the June birthday of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, but Texas and Arkansas observe it on Jan. 19, the federal holiday for slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

More than 1,000 municipalities celebrate the holiday with parades and festivals, said Charles McMichael, commander in chief of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, and efforts are under way to spread it nationwide, state by state.

"It has been our experience over the last 30 years or so that when the Confederacy is addressed at all historically, it is done in a way that serves a political agenda and not in a way that we think is accurate. We want the truthful history about all aspects of the Confederacy told," said McMichael. "There are some good things that you can learn, and we think there are more good than bad."

But for many Americans, the mention of the Confederacy is a painful reminder of the atrocities of slavery.

The negative image has long angered some white Southerners, particularly those whose ancestors died in the Civil War. In their view, the war is a source of Southern pride. In recent years, they have sought to redefine the Confederacy in multicultural terms, pointing out that Jews, Hispanics and blacks fought for the South. They argue that the war had little if anything to do with slavery, and they have become vocal in their opposition to white supremacist groups that use the Confederate flag as a symbol of hate.

"Slavery is a part of American history, not just Confederate history," said McMichael. "The Confederacy has gotten a bad rap because we ended up on the losing side and therefore the wrong side of history."

While the commemoration of the Confederate past as a noble cause began shortly after the Civil War in 1865, the multicultural angle is an effort to appear more inclusive, but is not factual, said Jonathan Sarris, associate professor of history at North Carolina Wesleyan College.

"To say that it is not racist but about multiculturalism is an attempt to adopt a modern mind-set. You can call it a victory for the forces of multiculturalism when even the defendants of the Confederacy feel they have to pay some lip service to the idea of tolerance," Sarris said.

Georgia state Sen. John Bulloch, a Republican who sponsored the bill recognizing Confederate History Month, said the observance would help tourism, particularly in areas with Civil War battlegrounds. It is no different, he said, from Black History Month.

"Black history is a very important part of the heritage of American citizens, so we recognize it. The War Between the States is a very significant part of the history of the United States, so why should anybody look at this any different?" Bulloch said. "With Georgia being part of the Confederacy, this is something that is very significant to us."

State Rep. Tyrone Brooks, a Georgia Democrat and longtime civil rights leader, said the South has lagged behind the nation by trying to hold on to the past. He said the bill will face opposition in Georgia's more diverse House.

"These Southern states really still have not come back into the Union," he said. "That is why it's been so difficult over the years to get the states to recognize that flying the Confederate emblem on the flag, holding re-enactments and pushing these calendar events as a matter of law is a reflection ... of their Confederate mentality.

"This is a new day. The Confederacy lost, and the majority of the American people will not accept these ideas about a renegade group of folks who decided they would overthrow the U.S. government."

dglanton@tribune.com

Source: Chicago Tribune