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[L Verge]

(06-11-2018 04:10 PM)Rsmyth Wrote:  Nothing gets this site buzzing like a perceived attack on the confederacy!
Laurie, Unfortunately the south was nothing like what was pictured in Gone with the Wind with its benevolent slaves.
You will never convince me that there is any justification for a stature on the village green of Nathan Bedford Forest who was a slave holder, slave trader, racist who murdered hundreds of Black soldiers after they had surrendered and a leader of the KKK or Stone Mountain, the largest symbol of the confederacy built on KKK sacred land, donated by a KKK member where KKK meetings and cross burnings were held.
Please tell me how either of these monuments does anything to heal the rift between Blacks and Whites in the country? And Laurie I believe you are living in a fantasy world where the majority of Blacks you have spoken to find no reason to remove these symbols.

Perhaps the site gets buzzing when unsubstantiated and derogatory remarks are made about our history (and not just the Confederacy) by folks who only see one side of the story?

During my studies for two degrees in the field of history, I have read and heard lectures on both sides. I have had several courses just on the Civil War, and more importantly, I have had courses on black history in America taught by African American professors who saw both sides of the story -- and at Surratt House, I deal with black history and slavery every day and also work with the Black History Program in our county, which is headed by a young, African American man with a doctorate in the field and the opinion that it is time to look ahead and focus on current issues and what does lead to progress.

Our museum is under the Natural and Historical Resources Division of our county's Department of Parks and Recreation, and our new assistant division chief (who will be my supervisor) is also a young African American male with a doctorate. Luckily for me, both of them (and others that I work with) are well aware that I don't live by the Gone With The Wind or Moonlight and Magnolias syndrome. That's just another old canard that is thrown out by liberals to reinforce the race card.

Do you have a number of African American contacts that you work with on a daily or monthly basis and really have discussions of this type with? I know the demographics of your home town. Are you well-read and trained on black history? Do you support programs designed to lift up African American causes, or just ones designed to tear down Confederate symbols? Or, do you listen to liberal talk shows and read social media and post on forums to see if you can create a buzz?

And don't accuse me or other good historians on this site of living in a fantasy world about racial issues. The one racial issue that frightens me is the possibility that things like the monument debate will get out of hand and the uneducated on both sides will lead us into a race war. And, my African American friends fear the same thing.