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The American South, since its existence has always been a hotbed
regarding the topic of race relations. In particular, sexual relations
between the races have served as the stuff of legend, rumor, and riot.
Probably one of the most recognized examples is that of the
relationship between Past President Thomas Jefferson and his slave,
Sally Hemmings. In modern times, there has even been speculation that
the late Strom Thurmond fathered a black daughter
(See 'Strom's
Secret' by Ken Cumins). A key word
here is speculation. As many of us are forced (and some not so forced)
to deal with the standing social construct of race, it's particularly
interesting how we as individuals subscribe to and apply the concept
within our personal lives, and to how we see the world at large.
To the question, "Can't we all just get along?" The answer is, "Of
course we could." The real question is "Will we?"
'Race-mixin.' Or miscegenation, the then proper word of the times
that described the act of sex between the races. Randall Kennedy
took the concept and dissected the effects of the issues it raised
within the setting of the Deep South of the Americas in the 1950's.
The book was sparked by Kennedy's research on the legal study of
the "Orphan in Dixie," the mulatto child given away by her white
mother to her white aunt, only to be passed off again to a married
black couple. The couple was then left with a fight to legally adopt
the 'white' child they had come to love as their own. The State of
Louisiana recognized the child as 'white,' since it was indicated as
such on her birth certificate, and state law prohibited adoption
against color lines. Kennedy demonstrates in his book, Louisiana's
'punctilious' behavior regarding racial categorization.
The story is less about politics, and more about how we struggle to
incorporate the modern concept of race into our lives, and in
particular into social and familial settings. When asked why he wrote
a book pertaining to interracial sex, he stated that it was an area
that was understudied. Noting, that while it is common to see studies
of the effects of race within the realms of education, the workplace,
housing, and the like; we less often study race relations within the
institutions of friendship, dating, marriage, and family.
For emphasis, while at a forum introducing his book at the Margaret
Mitchell Institute, he recalled an event of dialoging with a student
over the concept of race. The student vehemently stated that racial
categorization was not only illegal, but morally wrong. Kennedy asked
the student if he thought that people who specify race within personal
ads were committing an immoral act. To which he got no answer. One
can assume the student was referring to racial categorization with
respect to education, the workplace, housing, and the like.
…Forty Years Later
In The Fall of 2000, the Harris County school system in Georgia
experienced its own turmoil and tensions when one of their schools
banned students from wearing the Confederate Flag emblem. As a
subsequent counter measure, students were banned from wearing the
urban FUBU label as well…
HERITAGE
– NOT HATE
An Old Problem in
the New South
The Sons of Confederate Veterans [SCV]
is a historical, patriotic, and non-political
organization dedicated to insuring that
a true history of the 1861-1865 period
is preserved. Unfortunately, for some
people, the Confederate “Stars
and Bars” flag is the first thought
they have of the period in American
history when slavery was legal. While
some may think the correctly-called
Confederate Battle Flag represented
the South’s affection with slavery,
it was actually the United States Flag
which flew over slave ships. “The
square Confederate battle flag incorporated
the Cross of St. Andrew, a Celtic Christian
symbol, along with the stars and colors
used in the national flag. Despite what
some contemporary critics believe, the
battle flag never served as a national
flag of the Confederacy. Instead, the
banner demonstrated the influence of
Christianity among the troops and served
as a rallying point for Confederate
soldiers on the field of battle”
(www.ncscv.org).
While skinheads and neo-Nazis have tried
to use this flag for their own diabolical
purposes, the “…SCV rejects
any group whose actions tarnish or distort
the image of the Confederate soldier
or his reasons for fighting” (www.scv.org).
There were black, Jewish, Hispanic,
and American Indians who fought for
the South in the War of Northern Aggression;
and, today, some of their ancestors
are members of the SCV--which is open
to all male descendants of any veteran
who served honorably in the Confederate
armed forces. A current SCV bumper sticker
reads, simply, Heritage--Not Hate.
The SCV supports the Southern Cause,
that is, the reason that these men fought
so tenaciously: “The preservation
of liberty and freedom was the motivating
factor in the South’s decision
to fight the second American Revolution”
(SCV Heritage of Honor brochure). These
Southern soldiers wanted to protect
their rights guaranteed by the Constitution
as well as to protect their home state
from Northern invasion. While specifically
and categorically repudiating hatred
and racism in any form, the SCV absolutely
refuses to allow our ancestor’s
history neither to be distorted or rewritten,
nor to diminish the motives for their
heroic suffering and sacrifice. The
SCV exists to protect this unique part
of our nation’s cultural heritage…and
the true history of the South.
STAN
LATTA, COMMANDER
PRIVATE HENRY L. WYATT CAMP # 1297
SONS OF CONFEDERATE VETERANS
[RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA]
Zora
Posters
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