Seven states in the U.S. formally recognize April as Confederate History Month, but, why? There’s no “Union History Month.” We still learn about the Civil War and the Confederacy in our history classes, so why dedicate an entire month to the history of a country that no longer exists?
In a time such as now, when our country is so divided by race, there’s no reason to spend a month celebrating a country that only existed because of how desperate it was to keep its right to own other humans as slaves. Don’t get me wrong. We definitely need to be educated on the atrocities of the Civil War and everything surrounding it, but setting aside a “Confederate History Month” isn’t the way to go about it. We can educate ourselves and others without spending a month celebrating.
Growing up in the Deep South, I was surrounded by people constantly justifying the actions of the Confederacy. They always insisted that the Confederacy was “right” and would go as far as they possibly could to defend it. When confronted, they would insist that the Civil War wasn’t about slavery, but states’ rights. These same arguments are being made by government leaders in these Southern states in defense of Confederate History Month. The issue, however, is that you cannot separate the Civil War and slavery. This “holiday” isn’t about education and history as the congressmen and governors of these states are insisting. These states want to celebrate a country that proudly made statements about how slavery was a blessing to them morally, socially and economically.
Why would we, as a country, continue to try and celebrate an entire month dedicated to another country that stood for something so vile? Honoring the Confederacy during a time when people of color are being mistreated and killed is incredibly tone deaf. However, at the same time, this country does seem to be pretty good about celebrating holidays that focus on the deaths of others — Columbus Day and Thanksgiving are the first to come to mind.
To put it simply, this holiday is completely unnecessary. If anything, it should be renamed to clarify that its purpose is not to glorify the Confederacy, but to educate on the Civil War. Though only seven states formally recognize Confederate History Month, it leaves the impression that the U.S., as a country, values a time when we were divided over the inhuman act of slavery, which should not be true.
Hi Ms. Kelley. For starters, I was born and raised in Florida and have never heard of Confederate History Month — thanks for nothing, public education. Just kidding. I am not surprised to hear such a thing exists, but I am also not troubled by it. To me, forcing people to give up their beliefs or heritage or allegiance to WHATEVER is dangerous and antithetical to American values. I know you weren’t suggesting it be abolished, but you questioned its continued presence and how it can paint America in a negative light. Let the will of the constituents of those 7 states decide what they want to celebrate, whether that’s state’s rights or Plantations (which, I don’t think I’ve EVER heard any person suggest we go back to slavery, even from racist individuals). Federalism in America has been one of the greatest experiments in democracy and human freedom in history, despite stains in our country’s origins. Let the people root out bad ideas and replace them with better ones. Forced change is dangerous, and dare I say pushes people to even more extremes! Thank you for the thought-provoking article.