Last week a teenager in Mississippi was sentenced to two life sentences for murder.
Deryl Dedmon ran over James Craig Anderson with a pick-up truck because he was black. On the surface Dedmon looked like a typical American kid. What we used to call “All American” – white, blue eyed and blond. But clearly something grotesque was beneath the surface.
What do we, as a society, do to instill such hate in the hearts of young men that they kill strangers based on their race? When the sentence was handed down the Judge said “This is not who we are (Mississippi).”
Really, your honor? How could a young man learn to hate his fellow man based on race growing up in Mississippi? Maybe he looked at the state flag. Maybe he saw it in the naming of streets and parks for those who defended slavery.
The death of James Craig Anderson must serve as a wake up call. As a society we are sending messages of intolerance to our children. Messages that distort history and honor those who sought to betray the United States and perpetuate slavery. This is a contributing factor that helps instill hate in the hearts of teenagers.
In 2012 the fact that Memphis, a city when Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot and killed, still has a public park named after the founder of the KKK is aberrant.
We disadvantage Memphis youth both black and white by perpetuating the myth that the Confederacy deserves public accolades. It does not.
Would you rather open a new modern business in a city that honored a noted Southern writer like William Faulkner and Blues legend B.B. King or one where the founder of the KKK is celebrated? Acting as if we still live in the 1950’s Dixie comes with a price.
I call on the Mayor and the City Council to not kick the can down the road. We all know this change will occur one day.
Let it be us who make this common sense change. Replace the names of Jefferson Davis Park, Confederate Park and Nathan Bedford Forrest Park.
Let us recognize our history as a region – in history books where the complexity of the war can be explained. Not via our public park system.
Find persons to celebrate that are aspirational or noted on both a regional and global stage. Coretta Scott King, Desmond Tutu, William Falkner, John F Kennedy, Elvis Presley, B.B. King, or even ideals like Freedom (park), Liberty (park) or lets honor our Veterans.
Memphis has not properly honored those who have served in the Gulf Wars.
Let the names of our public parks celebrate the best of who we are as a region.
Not only is the Civil War over but also the symbols associated with the Confederacy are toxic. Toxic for our brand as a city. Toxic for new business. Dressing up our city in symbols of the “Old South” stifles our progress and perpetuates stereotypes that reflect poorly on our values.
After we change our park names lets look at the city seal that is dressed up in symbols of agriculture. It’s time to move the Memphis brand into the 21st century. Let us be the generation of Memphians that put the civil war behind us. Let it be us who stood on the right side of history.
Forrest disbanded the KKK, not founded it. White-washing history (or in the case of this article, re-writing it) is not the answer either.
The reasons for the succession were complex and indeed did include slavery, yet the crux of the thing was that the federal government had grossly overstepped its bounds.
I’m not suggesting that the confederacy, had it survived, would have been some sort of paradise – far from it. Indeed it would have been hell on earth for many of the enslaved until (who knows when) they abolished slavery. And world history suggests it may have imploded on its own, had it survived the war.
But hey – rambling 😉 The war happened. But by reducing it to just a “race war” you’re just perpetuating the current race problems. The real history is much more complex. Forrest is a perfect analogy: part-war hero (Memphis, Shiloh, et al), part monster (Fort Pillow), part reformer (after the war). Read his obit in the NYT[1], and pay careful attention to the end of his life wherein he advocates racial equality. Much like the war itself, the man was complex and can’t be reduced to just one issue.
Sorry, that one nit-pick sort of turned into a rant. I’m all for putting up more statues and memorials dedicated to the more positive aspects of our culture, so on the main I agree with the article. Where I disagree is on sanitizing or demonizing the parts of our culture that are uncomfortable. Not to mention that blaming that flag for a hate crime is somewhat like with blaming the Koran for terrorism.
[1] http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0713.html
Talk about rewriting history. Forrest was a grand wizard and energetic member of the Klan. He was also known for his violence. Whatever he was, he does not deserve a special city park. Bury him somewhere else and rename the park for a truly great Memphian.
Also, can we quit this ridiculous apologies for Confederate defense of slavery. If it was about federal overreaching, it was all about it overreaching to quit the sale of people. Can’t we quit the propaganda once and for all?
man ! no wonder why Memphis is so far behind – I didn’t realize it until my husband and I moved from suburban Atlanta
Th’ Waw is Ovah? Who won?
Renaming civic spaces based on contemporary views of historic events and information can be a slippery slope.
Just how poisonous are the three prominent Memphis parks named after the cause / defenders of slavery? No one will defend them here using their own name or Facebook profile.
Come on. Don’t be a coward. Let your friends, family and employers know you are still fighting for Dixie in 2012.
If you are afraid of publicly defending these parks because your defense may be interpreted as racism – well your completely right. That might just be a job killer for you.
Now you know how the whole city feels.
Cyrus,
Don’t lump everyone into the same pile. To assume another’s motives is to run down the dangerous path of stereotypes. I may be in support of renaming the 3 parks mentioned in the post, but as I stated earlier, I am cautious as almost every historic figure of any importance is also associated with varying degrees of controversy. The arrival of Columbus directly resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Native Americans in a few short years. Name the historic figure, and you can probably find at least one example of a serious transgression that would be more than enough to end the career of any contemporary political figure. It’s a slippery slope.
Dear Anonymous –
All I ask is that you post your support with your real name or your facebook account. Have the balls to let the world know you support the founder of the KKK (Forrest Park), the president of the Confederacy (Davis Park) and Slavery (Confederate Park). You won’t do that because that would brand you a racist. If would keep you from getting or keeping a job. Now put the city of Memphis in the same position. Why would we want our public face to be something you are too afraid to put your real name on??? Go on Anonymous show us that handsome face. I bet the HR department will love seeing it.
Cyrus,
I see no need to follow through with your request as you apparently failed to read my post. “…let the world know you support the founder of the KKK (Forrest Park), the president of the Confederacy (Davis Park) and Slavery (Confederate Park)”… when in my post I expressed no such support. Your comprehension skills have failed you, probably as a result of your dramatic and emotional relationship with this issue. As soon as you show you are capable of both reading and understanding what I wrote, I might take you up on your offer.