Trevor W. Coleman Hmm. Now thats an interesting perspective Matt Hallmark. All of my family is from the south; Virginia, Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee. My father (from Georgia) was a Korean War vet. Three of my four uncles (Virginia) were World War II vets and the fourth a Vietnam vet - as was my eldest brother. And my brother closest to me in age is a veteran of both Gulf Wars. Not to mention that my mother and aunts (Virginia) and grandmother (Tennessee) are from the south. In fact, my great-grandfather was a leader of the NAACP in South Boston, VA the early 20th century and a confidant and informal advisor to Gov. Byrd of Virginia. And all of them were educated in the south (Hampton, Virginia Union, Howard, North Carolina A&T, etc, with the exception of my father; Cornell). Strangely enough though, I dont recall any of them sharing your romanticism for the Confederate battle flag or so-called southern pride. In fact, they absolutely HATED the Confederate battle flag and saw it as a symbolic representation of not only a racist, treasonous and oppressive population of amoral and violent people, but as deeply religious Christians, also as an utterly satanic symbol for a demonic form of government - which the Confederacy absolutely was. Every bit as much as Germany under the Nazis. And frankly, Im not sure who you ar are referring to when you say we southerners, because in all my 54-years on this earth as a man who has traveled all over this country and world, and who has written extensively about race in America, I have never met an African American with roots in the south or a black person anywhere on this planet who was familiar with the history of the American south, who felt very differently than my relatives. With the notable exception of course of Clarence Thomas (who kept a large Confederate flag in his college dormitory room much to the shock and dismay of his roommates and visitors) and speak of his fondness for the old south. And of course you know what African Americans think of Justice Thomas. Finally Matt, I doubt anyone is asking you to be ashamed of your home anymore than asking the Germans to be ashamed of their motherland. However, you do not live in your region of the country alone. There are many, many other people who have an entirely different take on so-called southern history and southern pride. Frankly, the U.S. souths history is absolutely abhorrent and even now, as far as most of the red states politics go, remains profoundly disturbing in how African Americans and the poor are treated. Remember, it was William Faulkner who said: The past is not dead. Its not even past. And he my friend, was from Mississippi. Trevor W. Colemans photo.
Posted on: Sun, 28 Sep 2014 03:46:44 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015