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| HARVARD CONFEDERATE MEMORIAL INITIATIVE | |
| Slave in Jefferson Davis' home gave Union key secrets | |
| Slave in Jefferson Davis' home gave Union key secrets
Source: CNN Online | 5/20/09 | Barbara Starr and Bill Mears
William Jackson was a slave in the home of Confederate president Jefferson Davis during the Civil War. It turns out he was also a spy for the Union Army, providing key secrets to the North about the Confederacy. William Jackson, a slave, listened closely to Jefferson Davis' conversations and leaked them to the North. Jackson was Davis' house servant and personal coachman. He learned high-level details about Confederate battle plans and movements because Davis saw him as a "piece of furniture" -- not a human, according to Ken Dagler, author of "Black Dispatches," which explores espionage by America's slaves.
[Submitted by 8milereb]
Posted by:8milereb on Monday 01 June 2009 - 14:27:33 | |
| Lakeville MN declines to ban Confederate Flag Symbol | |
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| Lakeville school board declines to ban Confederate flag decal
Shane Amundson says the Confederate flag decal on his pickup truck is not racist, and the Lakeville school board declined to ban the flag outright.
The school board was concerned that banning the rebel flag on campus would violate the Constitution.
By SARAH LEMAGIE, Minneapolis/St Paul Star Tribune
When Shane Amundson's girlfriend gave him a large Confederate flag decal for his pickup truck, he had no idea the image would cause a stir at Lakeville South High School.
The student's truck, which he parks in the school lot, has sparked a local debate over where schools should draw the line between preventing harassment and allowing free speech. Amundson's decal led to several complaints and a petition - signed by roughly 50 Lakeville school employees -- calling for the school board to ban the Confederate flag from school grounds.
But on Wednesday, the school board quickly rejected the idea, heeding the advice of district administrators who said the move could violate the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment. District officials praised Lakeville South for the way it has handled the controversy. Superintendent Gary Amoroso added that the district retains the right and would "swiftly act" to shut down any behavior deemed to violate the district's existing anti-harassment policy, which deals with situations on a case-by-case basis.
The board's stance disappointed some at Lakeville South, including teacher Peter Woollen, who worried the district could be heading down a slippery slope and said several students have told him the symbol offends them. "If they're confronted with things that are degrading to them, that ought to be looked at," Woollen said.
The Confederate flag, seen by many as a racist symbol, is defended by others as an icon of Southern culture and history.
Amundson, a senior who will be honored as a Lakeville South student of the month this week, said he and his family are not racist. "It's just not who we are," he said. "God loves everybody, and skin color does not matter." To him, the flag reflects a "Dukes of Hazzard" way of life. "Me and my buddy are really into the whole redneck-type thing," he said. "We love working on our trucks. We love, absolutely love, going mudding."
Woollen said he's not accusing the student of being racist, but perhaps "naive."
Amundson's decal takes up the entire back window of his truck.
Its presence on campus has offended some people at Lakeville South, including a handful of students who have spoken to the school board or met with principal Scott Douglas. At least two parents complained to school officials, and Woollen filed a formal objection with the district last month.
The district, however, felt the mere presence of the decal in the parking lot did not violate district policy or disrupt the educational process, said Tony Massaros, the district's director of administrative services.
The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear appeals from students disciplined for displaying the Confederate flag as recently as 2000. Many lower courts that have faced the issue have upheld decisions made by school administrators.
To win a legal battle over disciplining students who display the Confederate flag, officials must show that the flag is likely to disrupt the educational process, and courts often look at individual circumstances such as whether a school is struggling with racial tension, said Teresa Nelson, legal counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota.
"Many, if not most, would find the Confederate flag offensive, but just being offensive isn't enough," she said.
In Lakeville, district officials advised Douglas not to order Amundson to take down the decal, pointing out that it was outside the school building and there was no sign the student meant to antagonize others. Instead, Douglas sat down to talk with Amundson about why the flag offends some people. Amundson didn't want to remove the decal, but offered to park off school grounds.
He did that for a few days, but when his parents worried that someone would smash his window, he went back to school officials and got permission to park in the school lot, draping an American flag over the decal.
Since then, the principal said he has talked to two other students who have displayed Confederate flag symbols in their vehicles. One student draped a flag on the dashboard of his vehicle, prompting school officials, who saw the move as an intentional escalation of the situation, to order him to take it down. The student began using it as a seat cover, which Douglas said was acceptable.
Douglas called the controversy "a teachable moment," saying, "I think our student body has done a good job of listening to each other and of understanding each other's positions."
Other schools have reacted differently. Last summer, three seniors were suspended and barred from graduation ceremonies at Bloomington Kennedy High School after school officials said they waved Confederate flags in the parking lot as students arrived for class.
A survey of several nearby districts showed that none have policies specifically addressing the Confederate flag, and few individual schools -- Bloomington Kennedy was an exception -- ban it in student handbooks, Massaros said.
Bloomington district spokesman Rick Kaufman cautioned that, when administrators aren't consistent about how they handle the issue, "Then, I think, that's when schools get themselves into problems."
Sarah Lemagie • 952-882-9016
[Submitted by 8milereb]
Posted by:8milereb on Monday 01 June 2009 - 14:21:38 | |
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| One more story about the Confederate Flag | |
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This is an excerpt form the most recent SLRC monthly letter.
On March 22 Dave Russell, Letters to the editor of the Asheville Citizen-Times, published a column entitled" Confederate flag battles just aren't worth the hassle anymore" a muddled, rambling discourse in which Russell repeatedly harped on his own Southern-ness while at the same time proclaiming that the Confederate Battle flag has been misappropriated by hate groups and has therefore become a symbol of hatred. Having expressed his opinion, Russell then admonished others not to "get all irate and preachy" on the subject and said his topic was one that editors" hate to see pop up on their opinions"
Interestingly enough there had not been no editorial-page debate about the flag and no recent news spotlighted on the subject. SLRC Executive director Rodger McCredie, himself an ex newspaperman, stated that the Confederate Flag issue has become "instant copy materiel"....a sure fire solution for every tinhorn pundit facing a deadline with nothing else to write about.
Roger McCredie’s response to Russell’s letter:
Dave Russell’s remarks of March 22, to the contrary, politically correct editors dearly love to talk about the Confederate flag, provided they can do so on their own terms. They get to be as "irate and preachy" as they want: people who disagree with them, we are told, do not. That’s because the so- called Confederate flag controversy is in fact a put-up job.--one of the broadest based and best executed negative PR campaigns in American history--spearheaded by an inherently hostile media establishment, a couple of greedy special interest groups, a cynical and avaricious Hollywood, and a gaggle of self serving politicians.
Because denouncing Confederate symbols now provides for instant liberal street credentials, legions of the ambitious, the malicious and the clueless have been leaping aboard this bandwagon, so it has morphed into a runaway train. Southerners have been fired from their jobs, expelled from schools, defamed, assaulted and even killed for displaying a flag that one former President has called "a legitimate American icon"
Sort of makes you wonder which direction all this alleged hate is actually coming from.
[Submitted by 8milereb]
Posted by:8milereb on Tuesday 26 May 2009 - 22:00:05 | |
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| GREAT NEWS FOR GEORGIA! | |
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| From the Commander SCV AOT: I feel it is important to mention that April is Confederate History and Heritage month, which is a perfect opportunity for the local camp and/ or Division to approach their elected official requesting a proclamation. I am excited to announce that the House members of the Georgia General Assembly voted on SB 27 and passed it on Wednesday. The passing of SB 27 will make April recognized by law as Confederate History and Heritage Month in Georgia. This has been accomplished through the SCV members on the Georgia Civil War Commission and those who serve in the House and Senate. It is amazing what can do done by setting a goal and working toward achieving it. I would like to encourage each of you to turn out in force for a Confederate Memorial Service this month. It is highly important that we paid tribute to our heroes and never forget their sacrifices. Many of these men gave all for hearth and home, and some are still buried off in some distant land, far from the home they were protecting.
[Submitted by 8milereb]
Posted by:8milereb on Tuesday 07 April 2009 - 22:24:52 | |
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| VA REFUSES TO ISSUE HEADSTONES FOR BLACKS WHO SERVED WITH CSA | |
| The VA is refusing to issue veterans headstones to blacks who served with the Confederate Army of Tennessee on grounds that the men were slaves and therefore may not be properly considered veterans. The VA maintains its position in spite of the fact that each of these 11 men in question applied for and received a Tennessee soldier’s pension, the records of which accompanied applications for the headstones. These records included Regiment, Compnay and type of service.
[Submitted by 8milereb]
Posted by:8milereb on Friday 03 April 2009 - 19:07:47 | |
| Beauvior upcoming events | |
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April 25th, 2009-Confederate Memorial Day-Dinner on grounds at 12:00 noon, Memorial Service starts at 2:00 p.m. Call (228) 388-4400 for more information.
Oct 16th,17th and 18th 2009
Fall Muster returns to Beauvoir. Contact Wallace Mason at 228-832-3343 for details.
[Submitted by Trusouthrnbelle]
Posted by:8milereb on Saturday 28 March 2009 - 18:04:55 | |
| Boy Scouts Troop 209 | |
| One of the Scouts from Troop 209 will be earning his Eagle Scout badge by helping fix up a part of Beauvior. He will be working on part of the back area of the Beauvior grounds. Several of the other scouts will be helping in this project. I'll take some pictures and post as the work comes along. They will start the project on March 27-29, 2009.
[Submitted by Trusouthrnbelle]
Posted by:8milereb on Saturday 28 March 2009 - 18:04:12 | |
| Confederate Flag in Florida | |
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| Controversial Confederate Flag Raising Ceremony
by FOX News Crews
By Orlando Salinas
I thought I’d only see Caucasians attending a controversial Confederate flag raising ceremony, early on Saturday morning in Tampa, Florida. That’s what I get for thinking.
But there they were- a smattering of African Americans, mixing it up with Caucasian bikers wearing Confederate flag jean jackets and caps. But what really caught my eye was seeing some of those same African American folks also sporting the controversial symbol on their bodies too.
Right smack dab at the politically powerful junction of Interstate 4 and I-75… hoisted 139 feet up in the in the air, was what most Americans call the flag of the Confederacy, but what is more correctly referred to by historians as “a soldiers flag.”
And that flag is huge, 50 feet by 30 feet, about the same size as the U.S. flag, flown over over mega-sized car lots across the country. Car dealers fly the stars and stripes partly out of patriotism, and partly for publicity. And the sons of Confederate veterans, Florida division, is no different.
Marion Lambert, who owns the sliver-size piece of property where the flag has been displayed, calls himself a proud member of the sons of Confederate veterans, who says his local organization would never defend the painful issue of slavery. And, as I watched Caucasian and some African Americans, hoist that heavy flag 139 feet in the air, there was a collective but “Out of tune” rendition of “I wish I was in Dixie,” and yep, African Americans folks were singing it too, and off key as well.
The local chapter of the NAACP has condemned this event. Calling it racist, and an abomination to millions of Americans, both African American and Caucasian . I was told it would not talk anymore to the media about this issue, saying it would only bring more publicity to the sons of confederate veterans. I pushed a little more, and was told the national NAACP, had given orders to the local chapter, to no longer talk to the press, saying it would only hurt Senator Barack Obama, the presumed Democrat presidential nominee, “Who needs the votes of those kinds of people in Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Ohio.” I asked “What do you mean those kinds of people?” His response- ‘’You know what i mean.’’
Throughout the morning, motorcycles rumbled in and out of the parking lot, making it hard to hear, and these folks wanted to be heard. Marion Lambert told me he wants people to notice the flag, wants people to ask, “Why is that huge flag being flown here in Tampa.”
Lamberts answer was simple enough: “I want people to talk to us, let us tell ‘em we’re not for slavery, we’re not for racism, we don’t hate minorities. We just want to show pride and reverence to our ancestors. We don’t agree with the slavery part, it was wrong, but we can’t ignore this flag. It represents our southern heritage, the good that we want to remember, and the bad part we should never forget.”
So there it was, white and black folks, some sitting on cinder blocks, smoking pipes. One elderly African American man wearing a suit and a Confederate tie, back-slapping and joking with a younger Caucasian man wearing so many Confederate symbols, he looked like the poster child for the event. The local NAACP has called these Confederate flag-supporting blacks “out of touch,” saying they don’t represent black America.
I asked the older black man in the Confederate tie, what he thought about the NAACP’s comment, he said “I’m about as black as it gets, I’m the grandson of slaves, I’m a U.S. war veteran, and I’m just as proud of this (Confederate) flag, because it represents my heritage too. And the NAACP doesn’t represent all of black America either.”
Sure wasn’t what I expected to hear.
[Submitted by 8milereb]
Posted by:8milereb on Saturday 28 March 2009 - 18:00:44 | |
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| Black State Senator Wants Paid Confederate Holiday in South Carolina | |
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| Tuesday, February 03, 2009
COLUMBIA, S.C. — A black state senator is pushing a bill that would require South Carolina cities and counties to give their workers a paid day off for Confederate Memorial Day or lose millions in state funds.
Democratic Sen. Robert Ford's bill won initial approval from a Senate subcommittee Tuesday. It would force county and municipal governments to follow the schedule of holidays used by the state, which gives workers 12 paid days off, including May 10 to honor Confederate war dead. Mississippi and Alabama also recognize Confederate Memorial Day.
Years ago, Ford said, he pushed a bill to make both that day and Martin Luther King Jr. Day paid holidays. He considered it an effort to help people understand the history of both the civil rights movement and the Confederacy in a state where the Orders of Secession are engraved in marble in the Statehouse lobby, portraits of Confederate generals look down on legislators in their chambers and the Confederate flag flies outside.
"Every municipality and every citizen of South Carolina, should be, well, forced to respect these two days and learn what they can about those two particular parts of our history," Ford said Tuesday.
In a state steeped in a segregationist past, "there's no love in this state between black and white basically," he said. That's not apparent at the Statehouse, where black and white legislators get along, "but if you go out there in real South Carolina, it's hatred and I think we can bring our people together."
Lonnie Randolph, president of the state conference of NAACP branches, objected to that reasoning.
"Here Senator Ford is talking about the importance of race relations by forcing recognition of people who did everything they could to destroy another race — particularly those that look like I do," Randolph said. "You can't make dishonor honorable. It's impossible."
Ron Dorgay, a Sons of Confederate Veterans member from Elgin, said race relations have moved far from hatred but he hopes Ford's bill brings more understanding of the state's past.
"Even in school systems, they don't teach the correct history," Dorgay said.
Local governments, meanwhile, are seeing green, not race, when it comes to adding holidays to their calendars.
Large and small counties would put up more cash to cover holidays they don't now recognize, largely for law enforcement and emergency worker overtime, municipal and county association lobbyists said.
Only 10 of the state's 46 counties recognize Confederate Memorial Day and only 27 observe the more benign Presidents' Day.
Greenville County, one of the state's wealthiest and most populous counties, doesn't offer the Confederate holiday. The Judiciary Committee said the county would spend $156,900 to add each holiday to its calendar. Much smaller Laurens County would spend $37,080.
Ford dismissed the costs.
"The good outweighs any kind of rationale you can come up with," he said before the subcommittee sent the bill forward to the full Senate Judiciary Committee for debate, which won't happen until at least next week.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston, supports the bill — and holding back chunks of the more than $300 million the state sends local governments each year.
Counties and cities "should be respectful of that as political subdivisions of the state," said McConnell, a Civil War re-enactor who runs a Charleston Confederate wares gallery and on Tuesday fretted how new junk metal collection legislation might affect his cannon. "If they don't want to be a subdivision of the state, then don't take the money."
[Submitted by 8milereb]
Posted by:Patrick on Friday 06 February 2009 - 03:56:23 | |
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