By Robert Soriano-Hewitt
Any celebration that seeks to legitimize and romanticize the history
of the Confederacy during the American Civil War is profoundly
insensitive and offensive to African Americans. In early April of
this year, Virginia’s Governor, Bob McDonnell, issued a proclamation
declaring April “Confederate History Month.” The proclamation states
“it is important for all Virginians to reflect upon our Commonwealth’s
shared history, [and] to understand the sacrifices of the Confederate
leaders, soldiers and citizens during the period of the Civil War.”[1]
To add insult to injury, the original declaration made no mention of
the oppressive and inhumane status of African Americans during that
period. McDonnell explained that he did not include a reference to
slavery because the Civil War involved issues other than slavery, and
he wanted to focus on “the ones [he] thought were most important for
Virginia.”[2] Only after much criticism and public outrage did
McDonnell issue an apology and amended the statement to include a
reference to the atrocity of slavery.[3]
The history of the Confederate States is inextricably
linked to slavery. While President Lincoln may not have waged war for
the sole purpose of freeing slaves, the major policy disagreement
between the north and south was the expansion of the domestic slave
trade into the country’s new territories. The Constitution of the
Confederate States of America makes several references to slavery,
including a clause that expressly prohibits the government from
“denying or impairing the right of property in negro slaves.” [4] The
undeniable truth of the Civil War is that one of the main goals of the
Confederate States was to preserve the institution of slavery. The
undeniable truth of slavery is that it involved the physical, mental,
and spiritual degradation of African American people for over two
centuries.
The absurdity of celebrating Confederate history becomes
even clearer when we analogize it to other instances of immorality.
For example, imagine if the Mayor of New York gave Bernie Madoff an
award for his achievements in finance and his contributions to
charity. This would be a sure way for the Mayor to lose the next
election. Consider another hypothetical: Germany’s President declares
April “Third Riech History Month” for the purpose of recognizing
Germany’s most powerful period in world history, and understanding the
sacrifices of the Nazi leaders, soldiers, and citizens during the
second World War. In the first hypothetical, society would rightfully
condemns Madoff because many people and institutions lost large
amounts of money. No city, state or municipality would dare
“celebrate” the legacy of Madoff regardless of his benevolent acts
towards society. In the second hypothetical, it is easy to understand
why the legacy of Nazi Germany should never give rise to government
sanctioned celebration of the Third Reich. Whether the immoral act
led to purely financial loss, or something far worse, it is absolutely
absurd to separate the immorality from the actor.
Denying or obscuring the occurrence of atrocity creates further harm
on many levels. It ignores the humanity of the victims, inflicts
further pain on the survivors, impedes the healing process, and
conceals the immorality of the perpetrators. Governor McDonnell’s
romanticized portrayal of the “sacrifices of the confederate leaders,
soldiers and citizens” casts a pall of historical inaccuracy over one
of the most important periods in American history. Including a
reference to slavery in the proclamation does not make it morally
acceptable. Celebrating Confederate History month in any form gives
the false impression of a benevolent confederacy, and trivializes
centuries of suffering that African Americans experienced.
Condemnation is the only acceptable form of recognizing Confederate
history.
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[1] The full text of the original proclamation is available at
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/07/AR2010040704411.html
[2] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/07/bob-mcdonnell-leaves-out_n_528733.html
[3] The revised version of the proclamation is available at
http://www.governor.virginia.gov/OurCommonwealth/Proclamations/2010/ConfederateHistoryMonth.cfm
[4] http://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/csa_csa.asp
