Over the past several months there has been a lot of controversy about public displays of the Confederate flag and other monuments to the Confederacy, including school names. The monument to Jefferson Davis at Washington Park in Brownsville is close to home. This monument has generated several published expressions of opinion, both for and against its removal. I stand firmly in favor of placing these monuments in museums and out of view of the general public. Why would anyone support symbols of oppression? There is no similar movement to display swastikas.

Some people argue that Confederate symbols are strictly to honor their history, their heritage or their ancestors. A person should actually know history if he is going to use a historical argument.

There were three periods in U.S. history when most Confederate monuments were erected. All were times of progressive social change that reactionaries opposed.

The first one was in the 1920s when a lot of African-Americans migrated out of the South to the North. Reactionaries had to start seeing African-Americans more frequently and they were afraid that they would join unions and align with progressives generally. There was a huge increase in Ku Klux Klan membership at that time.

This was the period the monument now at Washington Park was erected.

The second period of monument erection and flag displays for the Confederacy was during the 1960s when the civil rights movement was in full swing. Again reactionaries and racists feared that their way of life was under attack.

***Robert E. Lee building at TSC was named during this time period***

The third period was after President Obama’s election, for the same reasons.

A number of people, including “intellectuals” who have published books, argue the Civil War was about “states’ rights” or Yankee imperialism and aggression. All we need to do is look at what the Confederate States Constitution says about slavery to see that the Confederacy was all about slavery.

Article I, Section 9, prohibits the Confederate government from restricting slavery in any way. Article IV, Section 2, says the right of property in slaves shall not be impaired. Article IV, Section 3 prohibits the government of the Confederacy from outlawing or restricting slavery in any new territory that the Confederate States might acquire.

I am an old Southern white man and was raised in that culture and there are any number of things that I like about that culture. Most Southerners are very friendly on a personal basis. I love to hunt, fish and hang out around bonfires with my friends. I like Southern food and drinks. There are a whole legion of Southerners I admire. Many of them I can identify with because they had the ability to change. When I was in high school, I sometimes wore Confederate or belt buckles. When I learned more, I opposed the Confederacy. So did my heroes.

There is plenty in our Southern heritage to be proud of without aligning ourselves with reactionaries and racists. I consider myself a part of a progressive Southern tradition and am proud to be so. As the song says, “What Are You Going To Do With Good Old Boys Like Me?”

Walter Birdwell

Laguna Vista