I was recently contacted by the Southern Poverty Law Center. The Jefferson Davis Monument and Confederate Heroes Day will be included in their Erasing Hate Campaign. The purpose of this project is to identify and erase government-sanctioned symbols of the Confederacy across the country. Some will ask -- Q: Why is Erasing Hate attempting to erase history? A: The Erasing Hate campaign is not an effort to erase history. In fact, it relies on the historical record to help educate communities about Confederate symbols and how they have been used to represent the slave-holding South and white supremacist efforts to resist the civil rights movement. It encourages people to remind local governments that displaying these symbols in public spaces tacitly endorses the beliefs of the Confederacy and undermines confidence in a government’s ability to serve all of its citizens. https://www.splcenter.org/news/2015/08/02/splc-launches-%E2%80%98erasing-hate%E2%80%99-campaign ---------- Neo-Confederates will celebrate Confederate Heroes Day at Washington Park (where the monument is located) on Sunday - the day before Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. This is sponsored by the Brownsville Historical Association. Several association members have ties to the Sons of Confederate Veterans. Instead of uniting our country and celebrating diversity, they are romanticizing an era when African-Americans were not seen as equals. http://rrunrrun.blogspot.com/2016/01/brownsville-continues-to-glorify.html ---------- This is not the first time someone has tried to speak out against Confederate Heroes Day. A young man brought it to the attention of our state leaders. Jacob Hale is a true hero. He may have put his life in danger for bringing up this topic. http://www.texastribune.org/2015/04/14/13-year-old-panel-change-confederate-heroes-day/ ---------- We will be celebrating the MLK, Jr. National Day of Service on Monday from Noon to 3 P.M. We hope to see you there! https://www.facebook.com/events/1552678545023178/