The Virginian-Pilot
©
SUFFOLK
There's another storm over Suffolk. And it has nothing to do with tornadoes.
The Tom Smith Camp Sons of Confederate Veterans is protesting that April wasn't named by the mayor as Confederate History and Heritage Month. Mayor Linda Johnson didn't respond when they requested a proclamation, a spokesman for the SCV camp said.
The issue has a history. In 2002, they made national headlines when former Mayor Curtis Milteer signed a proclamation to recognize the month.
In 2003, former Mayor Dana Dickens called the history month "divisive." He refused to sign. He refused again in 2004.
In 2005, it was former Mayor Bobby Ralph's turn, and he agreed to make the designation. April 2005 was Confederate History and Heritage Month in Suffolk. In 2006, Ralph changed his mind and said no. Later that same year, he lost his bid for re-election to City Council.
Last year, it was Johnson's turn, and she said no. This year, Suffolk's mayor will for the first time be elected by popular vote. Johnson said she would have said no again.
"I had ancestors in Appomattox, and I respect the heritage," Johnson said. "I understand that the Confederacy is very much a part of our history, but it's not the thing to do. It is divisive at times."
The problem is, said former SCV commander Lee Hart, that the camp officially asked Johnson for the proclamation, and she ignored their request.
Johnson said no ill will was meant against the organization that celebrates and honors its Confederate ancestors. Other things - such as a tornado that struck the city late last month and the controversy over home assessments - took precedent.
"We tried to get an appointment with her early on," said Hart. "But we couldn't get it until March 31, at 2 p.m. A little late."
They even changed their tactics. Instead of asking the mayor to recognize only Confederate veterans, the group asked that April be used to honor all veterans.
"It's only fair," Hart said. "Everything else gets recognized. Her job would have been to treat us respectfully. I'm highly insulted."
Johnson said it was unintentional. She said she tried to call Jason Chipman, commander of the SCV camp, but she said she believes she must have written down his telephone number incorrectly.
Linda McNatt, (757) 222-5561, linda.mcnatt@pilotonline.com
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Point Taken
I think we all have the same idea, we just might be taking a different route to get there. Good opinions, good debating. Have a good memorial day weekend... both union and confederates!! And just so you know, I was watching dancing with the stars... I like it for the articles!
Time to retreat LOL
sporoutdrs echos MY talking points, under the subject line "jonnycage is right". Even when I think I am winning I lose, lol. Time to quit while I am behind here.
johnnycage is correct
The Civil War was fought for serveral reasons including slavery. The South and the Confederate Flag are always associated with slavery however it was the North that introduce slavery into the United states. Not every family in the South had a farm or plantation that worked slaves but most of the able bodied men in the South signed up with the Confederate Army because there were other issues besides slavery that these men fought for. These men were willing to give their life for what they beleived in and they should be remembered and honored just as we honor others for their part in American History.
jonnycage-I guess this gives me the chance to apologize.
The Dancing with the Stars and Smarter than a Fifth Grader crack may not have been the best way to win friends and influence people. Please accept my apology. As for the Mayor though? I stand by my belief she behaved badly. All she had to do is say "No" then explain why. It is that simple. It may be no more complicated than, she is more afraid of a special interest group than she is of the Sons of Confederate Veterans. Ms. Johnson is the mayor of a city in Virginia. If she is unaware of the importance of Civil War history in the south, then all might be served better if she moves North of the Mason Dixon line and runs for office in a community she is more in touch with. It speaks poorly of her and her staff's organizational skills that they would not find time to meet with the Sons of Confederate Veterans. Given the high level of compentency demonstrated after the storms, one wonders if the Mayor, her staff, and the city made a good faith effort to meet with the S.C.V. Of course she is a politician and not a historian. Perhaps allowances should be made for that shortcoming?
Oh come on Rosebud...
I guess I can see how my comments must have been mis-construed. My comments towards the tornadoes werent meant to be time sensitive as much as they were meant to show the types of things that can pop up on the radar of say a mayor or elected official. Those day to day things no one accounts for can sometimes pile up, not allowing us to get all we need to get done. And I cant believe you didnt think the Alamo comment was funny? Havent you ever heard the expression... 'we'll always have the Alamo." I know it wasnt the civil war, sad as it may be, I have a degree in history and worked 7 years in a national military park ....Fredericksburg. I know the civil war more then I care to share. The civil war was fought over color for sure, but it wasnt black or white... it was green. Good luck Edyta!
CH- You present an articulate and well stated point on the Civil
War and seem knowlegable about the subject. With only 750 characters, and even shorter reader attention spans, it's hard to make balanced point in this forum. It was not my intent to diminish slavery's role in the war, but to illustrate there were other influences as well. To understand this chapter of our history it is critical to at least be aware of the other events, forces, and the personalities at work in the 1860's. For example (staying with the slave issue) how many people "know" Lincoln freed the slaves with the Emancipation Proclamation?-- Mr. Lincoln ACTUALLY only declared the slaves free in states that did not return to Union control by his deadline. He omitted the North, and the Southern states already under Union control. Lincoln effectively declared the slaves not under his control free, but not those those that were. Did the average slave's life really improve? The percieved hypocracy of it was a powerful force in 1862, that had an impact we are unaware of today. So much of what we know as FACT about this war is misunderstood, and actions based on misconception are always bad things.
The Civil War
Comments about the Civil War . . . The war began after several southern states declared their secession from the Union because the northern states rejected the expansion of slavery into their territory. Their secession was taken as a rebellion against the Union. Therefore, the war was as much about keeping a nation together as it was about preserving or abolishing the institution of slavery. Please stop diminishing the role of slavery in the Civil War.
Thank you Jonny Cage for Illustrating One of My Talking Points..
Wow! I bet you have got to be really red faced about now? You actually said "BETTER yet its not like she had a bunch of tornadoes rip apart the city." You mean the tornadoes that came AFTER the events under discussion should have already been resolved? THAT is the "better yet" part of your argument? This is like saying the reason that the attack on Pearl Harbor was such a surprise on Dec. 7, 1941 is that we could not find the Japanese Aircraft carriers because of storms on December 9th. And you said it with such energy and enthusiasm too.--- I do want to thank you however. Your statement that the Civil War was: "a war fought over greed and racism" is a PERFECT illustration of my earlier statement, "so few people seem to know ANYTHING about the Confederacy and why the war was fought," and my followup point, "an alarming number of people think the South, Civil War, and the Confederacy was all about slavery." Oh and another thing jonny. The (seige) Battle of the Alamo was part of the Texas Revolution NOT the Civil War. Might I suggest you watch DANCING WITH THE STARS a little less, and ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A FIFTH GRADER, a little more? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batt
Confederate Proclamation
First of, the Mayor did not handle the situation in a responsible way. If the request was going to be denied the group should have been notified. But I do not feel there should be a month set aside for this cause as I do not believe the Confederate Flag should hang over state buildings. As a black female I understand the need to want to bring attention, respect, and knowledge to certain groups. I just feel that this cause has to much negative associated with it. I do give the upmost respect to the families and the Veterans because they did fight hard for something they truly believed in and I do not believe that everything and everyone associated with it is negative. But there would be no need for special months if the school system did a better job integrating all histories into the lesson. And a lot of people don't even realize that this is not the first time a woman or a black person ran for the nomination to run for president. In school all you ever learned about was MLK, and Rosa Parks and that took 2 weeks.
Tornado could not have taken precedence in decision
The Tornado could not have placed a role in deciding whether or not to name April as the group requested, as far as precedence is concerned.. The tornado took place April 28. There were only 2 days left in April. Far too late to make the proclamation naming the month, or to use as a reasonable excuse.