This story is part of The Confederate Reckoning, a collaborative project of USA TODAY Network newsrooms across the South to examine the legacy of the Confederacy and its influence on systemic racism today.

The white men stand, immortalized in metal and stone, in parks, public squares and the halls of government.

Statues of prominent figures in the Confederacy are a common sight in the South. But the visibility of their monuments often belie the way their lives and legacies are obscured by myth.

Like other symbols of the Confederacy, such memorials have been defended for generations as pieces of Southern heritage, or simply uncontroversial artifacts of history. But for many people, they are ever-present reminders of racial discrimination and violent oppression that has never gone away.

The removal of statues of Confederate leaders as well as those of others who promoted or profited from slavery and racism has become a focal point of calls for a true confrontation with racial inequality in the United States. As part of that conversation,USA TODAY Network newsrooms across the South are taking a critical look at several such figures to understand who they were and what they believed.

***

For more than four decades, a bronzesculpture of thebust of Confederate Lt. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest has been featured prominently in the Tennessee state Capitol.

A statue portraying Forrest was one of three removed in Memphis in late 2017 afterthe city found a loopholeto legally take down the monument that residents widely agreed should not stand in a public park.

But as the fate of the Capitol bust hangs in the balance pending a state commission meeting later this year and after years of debate among Black and white lawmakers, and Democratsand Republicans who was Forrest and why is he so controversial more than 150 years after the Civil War?

Among the most notorious parts of Forrest's legacy is his reported involvement leading Confederate soldiers in the West Tennessee Battle of Fort Pillow in April 1864, which has commonly become known as a massacre of surrendered Union troops, many of whom were Black.

Primary documents from a variety of sources refute argumentsmade by some Forrest apologists including some who have raised the possibility during conversations at the legislature about the bronze bust and Forrest's legacy that he was not responsible for the mass killings at Fort Pillow.

"We've been going through these excuses for Bedford Forrest for the longest while, and none of them are holding up under scrutiny," said Richard Blackett, a history professor at Vanderbilt University.

In 1868, Forrest gave an interview with a Cincinnati Commercial reporter that was widely published in newspapers around the country. In the interview, he said the Ku Klux Klan had "no doubt" been a benefit in Tennessee. While he denied being an official member, he said he was part of the organization "in sympathy," and later when Forrest testified before Congress about the KKK he eventually disclosed that he was familiar with rituals and practices.

Repeatedly in the 1868 interview, Forrest tried to suggest that he had more disdain for white Radical Republicans and Northerners trying to infiltrate Southern politics than he did African Americans, but he still remained fiercely opposed at that point to Blacks gaining the right to vote or having equal standing in society.

"I am opposed to it under any and all circumstances," Forrest said.

"And here I want you to understand distinctly I am not an enemy to the negro.We want him here among us; he is the only laboring class we have."

***

Jefferson Davis was a man of many words. He literally wrote volumes during his lifetime and spent the last decade of his life writing about the history of the Confederacyandan in-depth analysis of the Civil War.

But Davis (1808-1889) most notably is known for his role withthe Confederate States of America, of which he was named its first and only president.

Susannah Ural,professor of history and co-director of the Dale Center for the Study of War and Society at the University of Southern Mississippi, said Davis seemed to be a natural choice for president of the Confederacy.

Although he did not support secession, he felt duty-bound to represent his state, which voted to secede, and the new government to which he was appointed president. However, he also believed secession was a right afforded tothe states.

Davis wrote in his book,"The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government," that slavery "was not the cause of the war, but an incident."

In his preface to the bookhe said,"the States had never surrendered their sovereignty," and that states should be allowed to make their own decisions regarding slavery.

Davis saidthe federal government was usurping its authority by forcing unwanted laws on the states, first and foremost the abolition of slavery, which was an integral part of the Southern states' agricultural economy.

"(Slavery is) the primary cause, but it's not the only cause," Ural said. "When you talk about states' rights, when you talk about what powers the federal government should have versus state authority, one of the centralissues to states' rightswas the right to slavery."

However, she said, determining the Civil War happened because of slavery isn't entirely accurate.

"There's never one cause ofa war, and things thatmotivatepeople to fight in a war change over the course of time," she said. "To boil the Civil War down to slavery is problematic, but the bigger problem was that for decades, we just kind of pushed slavery aside and didn't really talk about it."

***

Even in his last days, Robert E. Lee, the Confederate general, had already become a myth a myth that gave a defeated South something to cling to; a means of understanding its defeat.

In 1865, Lee surrendered to Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse in Virginia. His exploits during the war and his canonization by defeated Southerners have rendered him among the most famous losers in military history.

To Emory Thomas, who wrote "Robert E. Lee: A Biography,"published in 1995, historical evidence shows Lee was a man who lived by a strict moral code, a sense of honor and duty; a great soldier and engineer who rose to the challenges he faced.

He was also a slave-owner and a white supremacist. While Lee believed slavery was morally wrong, he did not believe the abolition of it should come through the works of man, but, instead, the will of God.

In an interview, Thomas referenced a famous letter Lee wrote about slavery in 1857. In it, Lee distilled his views as a slave owner on race.

"In this enlightened age, there are few I believe, but what will acknowledge, that slavery as an institution, is a moral & political evil in any Country. It is useless to expatiate on its disadvantages. I think it, however, a greater evil to the white man than to the black race," Lee wrote. "The blacks are immeasurably better off here than in Africa, morally, socially & physically. The painful discipline they are undergoing, is necessary for their instruction as a race, & I hope will prepare & lead them to better things. How long their subjugation may be necessary is known & ordered by a wise Merciful Providence. Their emancipation will sooner result from the mild & melting influence of Christianity, than the storms & tempests of fiery Controversy."

In that letter, and other moments throughout his life, including testimony before Congress after the Civil War, Lee displayed views on race that Thomas described as compatible with social Darwinism a worldview that arose later in the 19th century and early 20th that Western governments, particularly that of the U.S., used to justify colonization, war and imperialism.

In 1862, he wouldfree his father-in-law's slaves, as required by the man's will, a matter of weeks before the Emancipation Proclamation took effect.

"He anticipated social Darwinism In the evolutionary pyramid of human beings, I think he saw white folks like himself at the top. And African Americans somewhere down the ranks, above American Indians whom he really thought were dreadful," Thomas said.

***

Known as the "Boy Hero of the Confederacy," Sam Davis' story was resurrected from obscurity in the late 1800s by journalist Archibald Cunningham, founder of the Confederate Veteran magazine. There are monuments erected in Sam Davis'honor. His boyhood home is on the National Register of Historic Places and operates as a museum.

Barely 21 in 1863, Davis was hanged for his refusal to give Union Army Gen. Grenville Dodge the names of Confederate spies. "I would rather die a thousand deaths than betray a friend," Davis said moments before he was hanged on the Public Square in Pulaski, Tennessee.

Davis wasnt a boy, but a young man whose bravery is immortalized as a symbol of the Confederacy and the Lost Cause, said Brenden Martin, a Middle Tennessee State University history professor. The underpinning of the Lost Cause was that the Confederacy was "right all along" and had a right to secede from the United States.

"All youve got to do is look at the (Confederate) Articles of Secession. The people who brought about the secession (from the United States) made it clear it was about preserving the institution of slavery," Martin said.

Slavery was the backbone of the Southern economy, Martin said.

And the Davisfamily plantation was steeped in that economy.

Data from the American Battlefield Trust notes that Charles and Jane Davis, Sam Davis' parents, originally owned a830-acre plantation located in Smyrna. By 1860, there were 51 enslaved people owned by the Davis family. Sam Davis also had his own slave, named Coleman Davis,who was gifted to him when he was a boy.

***

Anarcha was at least 17 when the doctor started experimenting on her. The year before, she suffered terrible complications during a 72-hour labor that opened a hole between her bladder and vagina and left her incontinent.

The man who held Anarcha in bondage outside Montgomery sent her to Dr. J. Marion Sims sometime in 1845. She was one of at least seven enslaved women sent to Sims by white slaveholders. They had the same condition as Anarcha, known as a vesicovaginal fistula.

Sims wanted to find a way to address it. From 1845 to 1849, the enslaved women became experiments.

By Sims own account, Anarcha underwent 30 operations as Sims tried different approaches to repairing the fistula.

These women could not say no. Neither Sims nor the white men who held them against their will showed interest in their opinions. Deirdre Cooper Owens, a professor of medical history at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and author of "Medical Bondage: Race, Gender, and the Origins of American Gynecology," said if the women protested, they "could get beaten, or they could get ignored."

Anesthesia, Cooper Owens said, was not in wide use at this time.

Despite that, a statue of Sims unveiled in 1939 remains on the grounds of the Alabama Capitol in Montgomery. A bust of Sims also stands in Columbia, South Carolina. New York City officials removed a statue of Sims in Manhattan in 2018.

***

Andrew Johnson considered himselfa champion of the common man but only when those common men were white.

The 17th president of the United Stateswas a common man himself. Born into poverty in 1808, he escaped indentured servitude in North Carolinabefore moving to Greeneville, Tennessee, where he worked as a tailor,owned slaves and launched his political career as a Democrat.

When President Abraham Lincoln died from an assassin's bullet just six weeks after Johnson took office, a fractured countryfound its stubborn new president lacked Lincoln's ability to navigate theend of the Civil War with nuance and sensitivity.

Although Johnson had helped Lincoln end slavery across the land, he nowclashed with the Republican-controlled Congress by planting himself firmly in the way of rights for newly freed slaves. He soon grew widelyunpopular and became the first president ever to be impeached.

Johnson believed in what's called "herrenvolk democracy" the idea that the lowest white man in the social hierarchy should beabove the highest Black man, said Aaron Astor, ahistory professor at Maryville College who researches the Civil War-era South.

In 1860, the year before the Civil War broke out, Johnson said white Southernersfelt so threatened by the prospectof Black freedom that poor men would unite withslave ownersto exterminateslaves rather than see them freed.

***

Albert Pike is a name well-known in Arkansas history as both a Civil War general of Native American troops and a newspaper editor.

Although Pike was known nationally after the Civil War for his involvement with the Freemasons, he gained national attention again on June 19, 2020, when a statue dedicated to him in Washington, D.C.,was toppled by a group of Black Lives Matter demonstrators. The monument to Pike was the only one of a Confederate Civil War general in the District of Columbia.

Pike was a Boston transplant to Arkansas who initially resisted secession, but followed the lead of his fellow Arkansans in fully supporting the Confederacy and even servedas an appointed brigadier general in at least one battle in Arkansas.

By the end of his life, Pike had risen among the highest ranks of the Freemasons.

Before the Civil War, he had moved from the Fort Smith area to Little Rock to pursue a career as a journalist. He eventually became editor and owner of The Advocate where he reported on the Supreme Court of Arkansas.

When the Civil War broke out in 1861, Pike was called up to be a brigadier general over a troop made up of several Native American Tribes. He was cited as being an advocate for Native Americans and the wrongs they suffered at the hands of the white man.

When it came to African Americans, however, Pikes view of slavery was one that claimed it was a "necessary evil." He claimed that slaves would not be able to hold any other job and that they were treated well by their masters. He even admitted to having his own slave for "necessary" work.

***

Gen. Alfred Mouton has become one of Acadianas most polarizing historical figures. His statue, standing on city property in the heart of downtown Lafayette, has been the focus of public outcry, protest and legal battles for decades.

As support is increasing to remove the statue, most of the controversy over Mouton has focused on the fact that he owned Black peopleas slaves and fought for white supremacy during the Deep South's most oppressive era.

While Mouton is hailed by some as a hero from Lafayette's oldest family who fought to defend his hometown from Union forces during the Civil War, the famous son of former Gov. Alexandre Mouton helped wage another civil war here.

Mouton, along with his father, trained the "Vigilante Committee" in Lafayette Parish, a group that would carry out their own form of violent justice against Black residentsthrough whippings, expulsions and lynchings.

From the late 1850s to the beginning of the Civil War in 1861, Mouton-backed vigilantes fought against other groups in Lafayette Parish's own civil war.

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This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Confederate monuments: What the men honored by statues did and believed

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Confederate monuments: What the men honored by statues did and believed - Apalachicola Times

Did you ever wonder why the Democrats (and their armed militias Antifa and BLM) want to erase history? It's because they own the party of slavery, Jim Crowe, segregation, KKK, lynching, poll taxes and literacy tests for voting. Read actual history, not their revisionist version. They remain today the party of oppressing minorities but cleverly disguise it.

Just look at the decay of every big city in America. Inner city neighborhood public schools populated mostly by African Americans are total disasters. Reading and math competency among high schoolers are at fourth grade levels. Yet teachers unions, totally behind the Democrat party, vehemently oppose letting these kids have a choice of schools and a shot at a decent education. (Incidentally, Blacks overwhelmingly support school choice ... their kids do matter.) Crime, especially shootings, is out of control. Gangs and fascist Marxists like Antifa and BLM, are ardent supporters of the Democrat party. They loot, destroy, assault and murder. Democrat mayors call their riotous takeovers the summer of love and do nothing to protect their own law-abiding citizens, their homes or businesses. What's the common denominator among these cities? Democrat rule for decades. How's that working out for the people the Democrats claim to champion?

Layer on Democrats' support of open borders. If elected, Biden pledged to enact amnesty for 25,000,000 illegals (aka Democrat voters,) not to mention giving them "free" health care, college tuition, etc. No one can legitimately argue that this would not exacerbate the depression of wages for American citizens and negatively impact low wage unskilled American workers. Democrat strategy: corporations keep their cheap labor, and the American underclass becomes even more dependent on the welfare state rather than being helped to emerge from poverty.

Continue reading here:

Letter: Democrats are still the party of slavery - Hickory Daily Record

Betsy Burdett

Conservation Corner

Last months Corner was about sustainable land use, based upon economic principles. I must admit that economic theory is not my strong point, but understanding the basics is important since our entire society seems to be controlled by economics. After reading through John Ikerds article Who Owns America Land Use Planning for Sustainability several times, I think that I can relay the basics to you in a few paragraphs.

The three cornerstones of sustainability are ecological soundness, economic viability and social justice.

Because we live in a capitalist system, economic viability pretty much determines the land use choices that we make. The easiest way for me to understand economic theory as it relates to land use is to use the example of a small parcel of land. Lets pretend that were taking about a small farm. In order for a farm to pay for itself, to make a living for the farmer or landowner, it must make a profit.

For the past 75+ years, fertilizers and additives have been used to increase yields. Farm laborers get paid very little, so smart farmers have been able to make a profit and survive. There is a problem with this, however: commercial fertilizers, fossil fuels, pesticides, and machinery are all finite, non-renewable resources. Therefore, this form of farming is not sustainable, either for a small farm or huge mega-farms. If we can no longer count on fertilizers, etc. to sustain our farms, and we can no longer pay our farm workers a living wage, well need to cultivate more land.

Back in the 1700s, the production problem was solved by using slave labor on huge plantations to harvest cotton. South Carolina at the time was the richest state in the Union. But, slavery conflicted with the sense of social justice, so it was not sustainable. Now we use fertilizers and fossil fuels, yet they violate the 1st requirement for sustainability: ecological soundness. Weve got problems for sure, and they are not easily solved.

Organic farming has made a big impact recently because it is environmentally sustainable, if we can figure out how to make if economically viable. Currently, the average Polk County farm owner is over 55 years old, so the transition to organic farming will depend upon the feasibility of a younger generation taking over at the helm.

As you can guess, there are problems making this transition difficult, the first hurtle being the high cost of land. That gets us right back to the problem of economic viability. Our local land values are skyrocketing through the roof nowadays, making it virtually impossible for young farmers to even begin to try to make a living if they do not already own the land. Organic farming is labor intensive, so the farms tend to be smaller than farms using traditional, mechanical farming techniques. And, if the organic farm is less than 10 tillable acres, that farmland is not eligible for a North Carolinas Present Use Value (PUV) agricultural property tax deferment, so the young farmer may not be able to pay the Polk County land taxes each year.

Please take time to look back at Wed., July 29th edition of the Tryon Daily Bulletin, at the article on page 4 Polk in top 5, Polk ranks 5th in state for the most value for their property. Note that all the other counties in the Top 10 are mountain counties. All of these counties have lots of land and low populations. What pays for most of our county services? Property taxes. How does that work? Property values are assessed according to highest and best use, and that is based solely on economic viability. The higher land prices get, the more tax dollars are brought in to pay for community services.

Let me give you an example of how sometimes works. A seven acre parcel of farmland that is eligible for a PUV agricultural tax deferment has a taxable value of approx. $6,055. If that same seven acre piece of land is not eligible for an agricultural deferment, the property tax value is $115,000. That equals a 95% difference for the property tax bill. Even though the abovementioned seven acres has been used to raise cattle for the past 90+ years, it is not eligible for a PUV deferment because it is less than 10 acres, the state minimum for eligible farmland. The owner of this seven acres was smart enough to encumber his farm with an agricultural conservation easement, which lawfully restricts its use to agriculture only and thus legally restricts the propertys highest and best use value.

Yes, by taxing so much of our rural land according to potential development value we have great schools. Thats because we have so much open land to tax and so few people to serve. This is not sustainable. Think of sustainability (visually) as a box, with ecological soundness, economic viability, and social justice just being the three dimensions of a box: height, width, and length.

Our box is collapsing, slowly but surely, unless we work together to make some changes.

Read this article:

Who owns America What's it worth? - The Tryon Daily Bulletin - Tryon Daily Bulletin

The more I watched what was happening with Rep McNamara and the rest of the leadership in the General Assembly, the more convinced I became that I could do a better job. I want to serve my community, and I believe many in my district are ready for a new voice.

Stuart Wilson is challenging incumbent Joseph McNamara for his House District 19 seat in the Democratic primary on September 8. McNamara has represented the district for a quarter of a century and hasnt had a primary challenger in well over a decade. McNamara is a close ally of Rhode Island Speaker Nicholas Mattiello, chairs the House Health, Education and Welfare Committee, and is the chair of the Rhode Island Democratic Party. McNamara is Rhode Islands political status quo personified.

Wilson grew up in Rhode Island, and has worked in education throughout the state, teaching with organizations like Providence CityArts!, The Gamm Theater in Pawtucket, Ella Risk Elementary School in Central Falls, and others. One of the drivers of his decision to run was seeing the challenges facing schools across the state and in Warwick specifically, and understanding that the work being done currently by the states legislature hasnt been sufficient to meet and solve those challenges. Wilson married to Nicky Mariani and has two children.

UpriseRI conducted the following interview by email.

UpriseRI: What made you decide to run for State Representative in House District 19?

Stuart Wilson: Ive had ideas for education in the state during my career as a teacher and artist. Ive always been interested in what I can do to make life better for people. In 2018, I was very disappointed that my supposedly Democratic State Rep endorsed a Trump supporter over an incumbent Democrat in the Democratic primary. Shes a strong progressive woman and the kind of representative we need more than ever. The more I watched what was happening with Rep McNamara and the rest of the leadership in the General Assembly, the more convinced I became that I could do a better job. I want to serve my community, and I believe many in my district are ready for a new voice.

Funding for our reporting relies entirely on the generosity of readers like you. Our independence allows us to write stories that hold RI state and local government officials accountable. All of our stories are free and available to everyone. But your support is essential to keeping Steve and Will on the beat, covering the costs of reporting many stories in a single day. If you are able to, please support Uprise RI. Every contribution, big or small is so valuable to us. You provide the motivation and financial support to keep doing what we do. Thank you.

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UpriseRI: Do you think the Rhode Island General Assembly has been serving the people of your District?

Wilson: No. When schools are failing in Warwick and Climate Change is directly threatening our coast? I dont believe theyre being served. There are lots of working class families in the district; I talk to them every day. They dont make a living wage and the General Assembly refuses to make a plan to get them there.

UpriseRI: Your opponent is an incumbent Democrat, a committee chair with close ties to Speaker Mattiello and House leadership, and he chairs the Rhode Island Democratic Party. How has he not been serving his constituents?

Wilson: He takes money directly from both the Speaker and House Majority Leader Joseph Shekarchi. Its almost impossible to separate McNamara from the leadership. Hes happy to talk about money he brought in for a local playground, but thats not enough.

UpriseRI: What issues are motivating you? What are you hearing from people as you go door to door, or however outreach is done during this pandemic?

Wilson: Education remains as important to me as ever, and I hear about it far more than anything else as I talk to people. (I do go door-to-door with a mask, sanitizer, and three big steps back after I knock on a door.) People have no idea what school is going to be like when it reopens. Theres a lot of very valid concerns on all sides of the issue of reopening versus distance learning.

Im disappointed that we havent been prioritizing schools more. It motivates me to work on education long term because I see the current crisis related to pre-existing issues. I want to do a better job of pooling resources and knowledge at the state level. I would like to see more funding from the state to eliminate disparities in education throughout the state. Schools need money to run safely and the state needs to ensure that schools in low-income areas are safe.Im also interested in workers rights and protections. The pandemic has revealed holes in the social safety net. We need to fill the holes.

UpriseRI: In addition to the crisis of COVID, Rhode Island is facing a reckoning with our history of racism and slavery, as well as an economic crisis, a housing crisis and an unemployment crisis. Its a big job right now. What are your instincts as to what should be done in the short term and the medium term?

Wilson: Its a big job and it needs big, new ideas. Right now were spending far too much money treating the symptoms instead of the causes. Long-standing racist institutions need to be rebuilt. We need to reinvest money on direct support for low-income communities and minority communities. Providing housing for the homeless isnt just the right thing to do; it saves money. We should have cooling centers for anyone who needs them. We need more affordable housing throughout the state. We need to be asking, who will be building that housing? Who will be renovating an empty building into a cooling center? (Thats an idea from a neighbor by the way thanks, Gary) Who will we send when a social worker would be more appropriate in a situation than a police officer? Rhode Islanders need jobs. Solving these problems arent mutually exclusive goals. Many of these ideas would help all Rhode Islanders, but we need to always be looking for ways to ensure minority voices are specifically being heard. In the medium term lets definitely elect some more BIPOC!

UpriseRI: Let me ask about particular subject areas. Where do you stand, and what are your ideas on the Environment:

Wilson: We need a state-wide Green New Deal. Emphasizing jobs in sustainable energy. I happen to edit a chemistry magazine. Climate Change is very real and we need to be mobilizing immediately.

UpriseRI: Health Care

Wilson: All Rhode Islanders should have access to affordable healthcare. Expanded Medicaid has helped many people here, but the state needs to fill in the gaps.

UpriseRI: Reproductive Rights

Wilson: I firmly support a womans right to choose. I was incredibly proud and grateful for the work of the women that pushed to establish Roe v Wade protections as law in the state.

UpriseRI: LGBTQ rights

Wilson: Yes! Like with abortion rights, I think we should ensure that these are encoded into state law as a backstop against any homophobic or transphobic laws made in Washington.

UpriseRI: Policing

Wilson: Lets completely overhaul the Law Enforcement Officers Bill of Rights to start. We need much more civilian oversight so we can actually get rid of bad cops. We should also be reallocating money spent on militarized police departments towards mental health service and other, more effective methods to actually serve our communities.

UpriseRI: Guns

Wilson: Ive been named a Candidate of Distinction by Moms Demand Action, which Im very proud of. We need an assault weapons ban and strong background checks. Guns need to be taken away from domestic abusers.

UpriseRI: Housing

We need more homeless shelters, but also publicly-funded long-term affordable housing.

UpriseRI: Education

Wilson: Ive taught throughout the state. Ive seen the disparities first hand, and Ive also seen a lot of great ideas that arent being shared. The state should be addressing the funding disparity better. We need to do a better job of working between districts as well. For example, teachers should be able to take a job in another district without losing their tenure, seniority and other benefits.

UpriseRI: What other areas do you feel need attention?

Wilson: I have no idea why we cant make sure every kid in this state has a healthy breakfast and lunch. Hungry kids cant learn. Its shameful.

UpriseRI: Is there anything I should have asked that I didnt, or anything else you want to say?

Wilson: We have our own one percent in Rhode island. Lets raise the income tax on those making a half million a year to 9%.

Originally posted here:

Stuart Wilson is running against the status quo personified in his House District 19 run - Uprise RI