Virginia's Split Personality on the Confederacy

[Derechos]

Source: NPR

April 10, 2010 Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell found himself in hot water this month by declaring April "Confederate History Month" without mentioning slavery in the proclamation. Melissa Harris-Lacewell, an African-American studies professor at Princeton, tells Linda Wertheimer the move appeared to be an aggressive stance against the Obama administration.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125818039

[Derechos]

1. Two Virginias

Also by Melissa Harris-Lacewell on this topic - Source: The Nation


Governor Robert McDonnell declared April Confederate History Month in Virginia. In his declaration Governor McDonnell called for Virginians to "understand the sacrifices of the Confederate leaders, soldiers and citizens during the period of the Civil War."

In his original declaration, McDonnell made no mention of slavery as a root cause for the Civil War. His insistence on remembering only "leaders, soldiers, and citizens" refuses to acknowledge the existence of black people in the South. There were some black soldiers who fought in the Confederate army, but the vast majority of African Americans contributed to the Confederate effort through the violently coerced, unpaid labor that was part and parcel of the their dehumanizing, totalizing, intergenerational, chattel bondage. McDonnell seems to believe that this reality is unworthy of remembrance.

It's taken me nearly two days to respond to the Governor's declaration of Confederate History Month and his flip erasure of black life, suffering, and struggle because this particular news story is profoundly personal.


http://www.thenation.com/blogs/notion/550073/two_virginias

[Blue_Tires]

2. thanks for that link