I have seen a lot of very angry posts lately on social media about Gov. Phil Bryant signing a proclamation naming April as Confederate Heritage Month. Granted, I am not a supporter of Bryant and I do find this timing rather distasteful, but I find the disdain for this designation unnecessary.
I am not going to defend the fact that the American Civil War was not about slavery. I am not going to make the claim institutions are trying to rewrite history. I am not going to purposefully distract from the continuing injustices occurring to minority groups in this state and throughout this country.
The first point I would like to make deals with the actual wording of the proclamation. There is nothing inherently wrong with what Gov. Bryant said. While it is true he did not mention slavery, he did not really mention anything substantial at all. He does not defend or repudiate any ideas about the Confederacy or the war.
As the proclamation states, Mississippi will, “reflect upon our nation’s past, to gain insight from our mistakes and successes, and to come to a full understanding that the lessons learned yesterday and today will carry us through tomorrow if we carefully and earnestly strive to understand and appreciate our heritage and our opportunities which lie before us.”
This is the meatiest statement in the entire document. What is wrong with learning about our past? We do it every day in our history classes. Maybe this month will be a chance to educate young Mississippians about slavery. Maybe it will be a chance to educate young Mississippians about the wider effects of the war on populations all over the country. I know the chances are slim, but I can hope.
The second point I’d like to make pertains to what Confederate heritage is. Many people will say Confederate heritage is about oppression, treason and degenerate morals, but it is not so simple. Confederate heritage is American heritage. The ideals our Founding Fathers ascribed to—including personal rights, freedom against tyranny and justice—are the same ideals for which the Confederacy fought during the Civil War.
Yes, I realize these ideals were related to slavery, but so were those of our Founding Fathers. Do we demonize them the way we do the Confederacy? No. The only difference is they won the American Revolution. There is nothing more American than why the South separated from the Union.
It is a representation of the American ideal, no matter how unfortunate it may be.
Confederate heritage is also not just a white heritage. Entire Native American battalions fought in the Confederacy. Not only this, but in New Orleans free blacks formed the First Louisiana Native Guard, the first regiment in either army to have African-American officers. They were not pressed into service, but formed it of their own volition after their states seceded. Confederate Heritage Month gives us a chance to learn about these groups and others like them.
Dalton Capps is a senior history major from Coldwater.
