Some parts of Southern history are not so proud

Southern pride, Southern heritage. So say the battle flag wavers of the Sons of Confederate Veterans and their friends.

What Southern heritage are they so proud of? Is it the thousands of lynching murders of black men and, yes, women? Is it the rapes of black women, who knew if they reported those rapes to white southern law enforcement they would risk winding up in jail for making a false charge?

How about the Third World education provided in much of the South? Grossly underfunded, with poorly trained teachers (typically products of an underfunded black teacher training system), without enough textbooks or facilities? Interestingly, white political leaders said they shouldn’t be allowed to vote because they couldn’t pass a literacy test.

Are these banner-wavers proud of the blatantly racist Strom Thurman and his pro-segregation 1948 campaign for president? It went well in the South among their forbearers. Are they proud of the heritage of George Wallace, “Segregation now, Segregation tomorrow, Segregation forever!!”? When Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower began enforcing the civil rights laws, the leaders of some Southern states responded to this call for equal treatment for all Americans by putting the Confederate Battle Banner on their state flags and statehouses. And this continues to this very day in some states. Is this the Southern heritage they are so proud of?

In fairness, there are many Southerners who treat their fellow citizens, black or white, with respect and courtesy and who are not proud of the racism of the past hundred-plus years. Some of them are actually in politics and try to move their states forward instead of living in the past. Kudos to them. To the rest, take a look at the cross. Christ died for all men, not just white ones.

— Jack Burke

Salisbury

Honor all veterans

Notes of interest to those who want to remove war memorials:

Confederate soldiers, sailors, and Marines that fought in the war between the states were made U.S. veterans by an act of Congress in 1957, U.S. Public Law 85-425, Sec 410, Approved May 23, 1958. This made all Confederate Army/ Navy/ Marine veterans equal to U.S. veterans.

Additionally, under U.S. Public Law 810, approved by the 17th Congress on Feb. 26, 1929, the War Department was directed to erect headstones and recognize Confederate grave sites as U.S. war dead grave sites. For the record, the last Confederate veteran died in 1958. So, in essence, when you remove a Confederate statue, monument or headstone, you are in fact, removing a statue, monument or head stone of a U.S. veteran. Cultural cleansing by the liberal Marxist left! Deo vindice.

— Bobby Brandt

Raleigh