In response to the Sept. 9 article from guest columnist Andrew Soper:
I am a former graduate student at the University of Mississippi who grew up in the Deep South, and am well-acquainted with the belief that any accommodation to acknowledge the difficult aspects of Southern history and make people of color feel like they are included in such a history is the agenda of “Self-loathing liberals and red-in-the-face race baiters” who had “done more to destroy our beloved university than the Union soldiers who once burned it down.”
Besides the fact that the university was never burned down by Union, it actually seems ridiculous that universities in the South be shamed for more accurately portraying their own histories and also attempting to make students who have historically felt excluded instead feel welcome on campuses.
No one has suggested that a history of racism be erased from the space. In fact, the very opposite it true—to contextualize monuments and have open discussions about the history of the Confederate Flag (which for decades has been used as a symbol of defiance and intimidation by Southern states refusing to adhere to Civil Rights laws being enacted by the federal government) asks Mississippians to stop hiding behind the excuse of “heritage” and “tradition” and instead to confront their own troubled histories in a public way.
If you feel uncomfortable doing so and want to scream out that it is heritage, without any other reason, then I would ask you to consider why that is. If it’s “Southern heritage,” who is included in that heritage? Who decided what that heritage is? I wonder if your idea of “Southern heritage” includes the Chinese American communities who live in the Delta, or black slaves.
When you say you want to preserve Southern heritage, I am willing to bet the image is different than segregated schools or lynchings. What you really mean by “preserving” Southern heritage is that you want to preserve the idyllic image of Southern identity that has been determined for centuries by white Southerners, rather than adapt and change to include others as a part of that heritage.
Well, you can not continue to live in a dream world. If you want to celebrate the lives of fallen Confederate soldiers, you cannot also ignore the lives of murdered slaves (were both kinds of deaths not a part of Southern history?). If you want to idolize the Confederate monuments through town, you cannot also pretend there are no monuments to commemorate the lives of slaves (If there is one, please direct me to it).
Why is one history more important to you than the other? You would rather tell people to leave because they have differing views from you, instead of seeking compromise and keeping jobs, money, and progressive self-starters here.
People who cling to “heritage” are the reason Mississippi continues to be at the bottom in growth, wealth, and innovation.
Elizabeth Tran is a graduate of Ole Miss.
