Convicted former Sons of Confederate Veterans Commander-in-Chief Ron Wilson, an update. What type of people are attracted to the Sons of Confederate Veterans. UPDATE

Some time ago I posted a blog on former Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) Commander-in-Chief Ron Wilson and his conviction for fraud in running a ponzi scheme. The posting is:

http://newtknight.blogspot.com/2012/03/former-sons-of-confederate-veterans.html#.VKLJtV

He is now serving a 17 year sentence for the ponzi scheme.

It seems he has been indicted again for trying to hide some of  his ill gotten gains with his estranged wife and his brother. They are being indicted along with him. This is an article from The Independent Mail in South Carolina.

http://www.independentmail.com/news/new-indictment-in-ron-wilson-ponzi-case

http://www.justice.gov/usao/sc/news/8.12.14.ponzi.html

They were convicted according to this article.

http://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/local/2014/12/22/ron-wilsons-brother-ex-wife-sentenced-home-confinement-probation-community-service/20765919

The Ron Wilson case reminds me of another SCV officer from whom there has been unfavorable public news reporting.

There is Ray McBerry, Commander-in-Chief of the Georgia Division SCV.

This is one news story.

http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/story/26154510/mcberry-former-employee

There are a series of text messages shown for the article. They seem creepy to me.

This is another news story.

http://politics.blog.ajc.com/2014/07/29/report-ray-mcberry-seeks-out-18-year-old-for-bikini-clad-photo-shoot/

And this is another news story.

http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/story/26131771/mcberry-modeling

Along with some other things I have observed, which I am not going to go into here, I wonder if the SCV hasn't reached a certain stage in its history.

This would be a stage in which normal people tend to avoid the SCV and the SCV instead more and more attracts persons who are extremists or mentally a little off or both. As the SCV becomes more explicit in its agenda SCV members who are Confederate enthusiasts but not wanting to secede or support the neo-Confederate agenda feel uncomfortable belonging, but this more explicit agenda tends to at the same time attract more extremist elements. This further shifts the SCV to a more extremist agenda and the process repeats. Perhaps this process is already underway in the SCV.

Also, the SCV has a fair quantity of assets in terms of money and real estate. Some scammer might even now be planning to be Commander-in-Chief to get at the assets of the SCV.

Again this is a speculative thought. However, if you organized a flat earth society what type of members do you think you would attract?

UPDATE:

In the "With friends like this you don't need enemies," category there is this response to this blog posting about the SCV.

http://www.lsrebellion.blogspot.com/2014/12/sebesta-exposes-scv-scandal.html

The defense of the SCV by the League of the South (LOS) in my opinion hardly helps dispel the idea that the SCV might be becoming an organization of people who are cranks.

For the League of the South I might point out a person's misbehavior is not excused by the misbehavior of others.  It is a child's response when one is caught taking cookies to exclaim that a sibling has also been taking cookies.

The United Daughters of the Confederacy and their shrine to white racist terrorists the Red Shirts is getting national news coverage.

I have been trying to bring this to the public's attention for years. I am happy to report that the Red Shirt museum in Edgefield, South Carolina which is run by the United Daughters of the Confederacy is being given news coverage via an Associated Press news story.  The Red Shirts were violent white supremacists who overthrew democracy in South Carolina in 1876.

The following are links to the story appearing in different newspapers.

http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/metro/2014-12-20/edgefield-museum-shrine-south-carolina-red-shirts-who-attacked-blacks-during  (Georgia near the border of South Carolina.)

From the article:

The home of a Confederate officer who helped take power away from blacks and drive Republicans out of South Carolina’s government after the Civil War is now a museum honoring the Confederacy and its leaders. Those leaders include the “Red Shirts,” who used violence and intimidation to end Reconstruction in the state.

The article also mentions the Hamburg "massacre" of African Americans.

It appears the same article is being run in newspapers across the country.

http://www.dailyjournal.net/view/story/98da36b17b6844c9b1274fec9ded7e5f/SC--Red-Shirts-Museum/    (Indiana)

http://gazette.com/museum-remembers-controversial-sc-red-shirts/article/feed/189822 (Colorado)


Hopefully this news story will get more circulation.

Kevin Levin enabling neo-Confederates and his uncritical thinking of history and his elitism. UPDATED. UPDATE 2

I was recently going through my copy of The Journal of the Civil War Era, Vol. 4 No. 4, Dec. 2014 and I came across Kevin M. Levin, "Black Confederates Out of the Attic and Into the Mainstream," pages 627-635.

The article isn't entirely bad. Levin points out that the myth of the Black Confederates is pushed to sanitize the Confederacy. He talks about some the specific myths advanced by neo-Confederates such as the claim that there is a Black Confederate soldier on the Arlington Confederate Monument and disposes of them. However, in general the article really fails and a person has to wonder what the editors of The Journal of the Civil War Era were thinking.

There are three problems with the essay. The first is his enabling of the neo-Confederate movement. The second is his lack of critical thinking regarding history. The third is a failing to connect it to either the use of token African Americans by neo-Confederates and the neo-Confederates use of identity.

Levin refers to "Southern Heritage" groups as being the advocates of the myth of Black Confederates. On page 630 Levin states, "None of the print sources published during this period had much of an impact beyond a small select group of readers within the southern heritage community."

The neo-Confederate movement uses the term "Southern heritage" to assert that being critical of the Confederacy is to be critical of the South and to conflate the two. Levin uses the neo-Confederate movement's own terminology reinforcing the neo-Confederate assertion that Southern identity doesn't exist without embracing the Confederacy as a positive thing and that the Confederacy is central to Southern identity. The term "heritage" though technically means what is inherited from the historical past has in general use come to mean what is positive from the historical past. This is enabling white supremacy.

The magazine Oxford American and the journal Southern Cultures could be called southern heritage publications, but the UDC and the SCV are about the Confederacy and not about Southern history in general excepting as it relates to the Confederacy and Reconstruction.

On page 631 Levin states, "Southern heritage groups such as the SCV and UDC have utilized these stories to counter a narrative of the war that increasingly has come to embrace emancipation and the role of United States Colored Troops in ending slavery."

It would have been illuminating if Levin pointed out the irony of these two groups promoting the myth of the Black Confederate while at the same time promoting a white supremacist view of history. However, Levin, like many Civil War historians and enthusiasts, wishes all the controversy would just go away and they could get back to the toy soldier gaming of the Civil War. (Maybe a special issue devoted to it.) Levin has stated that he doesn't like the word "neo-Confederate." He likely fears that it will lead to loud voices at Civil War Round Tables and disquieting questions about some of the members of the Civil War history profession.

However, the essay really fails in Levin's understanding of historiography. It is something that someone might believe in when they were in middle school. It doesn't have any comprehension of the problematic nature of historical narratives.

Levin thinking in the essay goes like this:

1. Historians with their training and expertise and knowledge have in their possession true history.

2. Unfortunately with the Internet, those without this training and expertise and are wrong headed are making false historical assertions.

3. This problem would be solved by informing people to only listen to properly credentialed historical experts and authoritative institutions.

On page 627 in the beginning Levin asserts:

"The success of the black Confederate phenomena can be traced directly to the expansion of the Internet, including access to rich databases of primary sources and the availability of digital tools such as blogs, wikis, and other platforms that allow practically anyone to publish a Web site and engage and influence a wide readership. This has led to a sharp increase in the amount of history published online by individuals and organizations with little or no formal training in the field."

However, the Internet is not needed at all to propagate blatantly false history. The Lost Cause interpretation of the Civil War and Reconstruction flourished in the early 20th century long before the Internet or even before radio transmissions. Holocaust denial was widely known about, much to popular disgust, before the Internet. About half the American public doesn't believe in the geological history of the earth and evolution and this refusal to accept science is previous to the advent of the Internet. Similarly the notorious "Protocols of the Elders of Zion" and Anglo-Israelite identity theories both had wide circulation prior to the invention of the Internet.

The Black Confederate narrative served the interests of neo-Confederates and a broad section of the white South which embraces the Lost Cause historical narrative and so it had an audience of those who wanted to believe. The Internet merely served to make more efficient the communication of this narrative to those who very much wanted to believe it, who are grasping for straws to justify the Lost Cause.

Levin portrays the general public which uses the Internet as naive and uncritical consumers of information on the Internet. He states on pages 632-633:

"Rather than assuming the static position of dispensing historical knowledge ex cathedra, public historians, along with academics and other history educators from junior high school through college, need to focus their efforts on teaching the kinds of digital literacy skills that will assist students and the public generally in their quest for reliable information." 

The public already knows that the Internet is full of misinformation. There is a website www.snopes.com devoted to it and people refer to it. Misinformation on the Internet is a topic on the Internet. Levin is avoiding the issue that the Black Confederate narrative is something some people want to believe against all odds, and attempts to position it as an issue of the gullible public who unfortunately are not guided by the expert history establishment, the League of Distinguished Civil War Historians of which he is so fond of thinking that he is a member. (Didn't Coski tell him that he was a member?)

Levin continues on page 633 stating what questions an Internet user might ask to to avoid ending up in believing in Black Confederates, he states:

"Is the site associated with reputable institution like a museum, historical society, or university? Can you identify the individual or organization responsible for the site, and are in the proper credentials displayed? Is the information provided on the Web site, including text and images, properly cited? What can you discern from the site's incoming and outgoing links?"

This is fairly direct. Believe what the establishment tells you about history and be very skeptical of all others.

However, academics and institutions have their agendas and problems. If the Internet existed in the first half of the 20th century distinguished professors like William Archibald Dunning of Columbia University would  have had the reputable Internet site explaining that Reconstruction was a terrible period of "negro misrule." Dunning could probably provide footnotes.

I wonder what the reputable institutions of history in Turkey have to say about the Armenian holocaust? I am sure they have footnotes.

With all the problems with public school texts and the teach of American history in public schools should junior high and high school history teachers be employed to refute historical mythologies outside their teaching. I suggest they start first with their own text books.

Historical memory and knowledge is contested. Histories are written to serve agendas. People believe what they want to believe. That fact that history itself is problematic has been realized for some time.

Napoleon Bonaparte quipped, "History is a set of lies agreed upon," shows that even in his time, people had an idea that established history was questionable and might just be a narrative serving an agenda.

"Treason doth never prosper. What's the reason?  Why if it prospers none dare call it treason," states an epigram by John Harrington in the 16th or early 17th century. The epigram is a commentary on the contested nature of historical memory.

The historical narrative of Black Confederates is another example of many examples of contested historical memory and how different groups advance histories to serve their own agendas including the respectable establishment historians. There is a whole field of inquiry regarding historical memory.

Additionally, Michel Foucault has written "The Archaeology of Knowledge," examining how knowledge is produced.  How is historical knowledge produced and consumed?

Thomas Carlyle stated, " Every new opinion, at its starting, is precisely in a minority of one." Perhaps the website lacking institutional credentials might be a website to read.

The issue of Black Confederate historical narratives is about contested historical memory, how beliefs are accepted or rejected, and how we construct our world views.

What would be useful for the non-professional historian is training how to critically interrogate all history whether it is on the Internet or published by Harvard University or some other distinguished body. All of history is contested. All sources might be subject to skepticism.

Levin doesn't locate the invention of Black Confederates in their obvious contexts. The neo-Confederates have also proposed the idea of the Celtic Confederacy and the South being a Celtic nation. This proposed ethnic identity replaces the older Lost Cause idea of the South being an abode of Anglo-Saxon purity and the Lost Cause mythology of the Cavalier and Round Head.

There is also the issue of the invention of ethnic identities to avoid confronting the issues of race in the South.

I think also that Black Confederates is part of a larger agenda of neo-Confederates to use African Americans to justify neo-Confederate beliefs. The Sons of Confederate Veterans parades around African American H.K. Edgerton wearing a Confederate uniform and flying the Confederate flag in their defenses of the Confederacy.

An even larger context to locate this invention of Black Confederates would be to consider it in the context of the larger practice of using token African Americans to justify white racist beliefs.

Other topics in which Black Confederates might be compared to is the Melungeon mythologies which served largely for some people to escape believing in their African American ancestry. 

The article is a simplistic, cartoonish, idea that a gullible public is being led astray by persons lacking proper historical training and credentials. It is an article that would be written by an elitist unconscious of the larger issues or critical theory. 

That the editors of the journal accepted this article raises concerns about Civil War scholarship in general.

UPDATE 2:

Recently Salon.com published a parody of a writer in the New York Times who was upset with the Internet.

The Salon parody is online here:
http://www.salon.com/2015/01/21/the_internet_has_destroyed_human_civilization_americas_greatest_writer_finally_weighs_in/

The New York Time's article that Salon parodies is online here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/18/books/review/among-the-disrupted.html?_r=1

Information and discourse is being democratized which upsets by those who were previously privileged. When the privileged are dispossessed they usually scream in outrage.

Witness this blog posting by Brooks D. Simpson who is actually on the editorial board of Civil War Era.

https://cwcrossroads.wordpress.com/2014/12/18/cries-for-attention/

As you will note his tirade doesn't actually address any specifics in my blog posting. It is just sputtering rage. When I saw the Salon parody I thought of Simpson's raging article and Kevin Levin's complaint about the Internet.

League of the South allowing it to be used by a foreign power against American interests. UPDATE:

I was reading this interesting article about Putin and Russia at the New York Review of Books in the latest issue. You can read it here:

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2014/dec/18/how-he-and-his-cronies-stole-russia/?insrc=hpma

In place of a genuine media and a real civil society, Putin and his inner circle slowly put into place a system for manufacturing disinformation and mobilizing support on a new and spectacular scale. Once the KGB had retaken the country, in other words, it began once again to act like the KGB—only now it was better funded and more sophisticated. Today’s Russian “political technologists” make use of their state-owned media, including English-language outlets such as the TV news channel Russia Today; armies of paid social media “trolls” who post on newspaper comment pages, as well as on Twitter, Facebook, and other sites; fake “experts” whose quotes can be presented with fake authority; and real experts to whom Putin’s officials have granted special access, or have simply paid. Former Western ambassadors to Moscow, businessmen who have been recruited to Russian company boards, European politicians as high-ranking as Schröder and Silvio Berlusconi—all have been well compensated, directly or indirectly, for offering their support.

Using these different sources, the Kremlin began putting out messages designed not necessarily to make Russia look good, but rather to undermine the Western establishment and Western institutions, including the European Union and NATO. Using both money and information, they seek to empower the Western far right, the anti-establishment left, and the international business community all at the same time. Thus Russia Today supports Occupy Wall Street. A Russian oligarch organizes a meeting in Vienna attended by the French National Front, Hungary’s nationalist political party Jobbik, and Austria’s Freedom Party.3 Whispering campaigns, conducted in the world’s financial capitals—especially Frankfurt and the City of London—hint at the dire things that will happen if sanctions against Russia are not lifted. In an article recently published by The Interpreter, an online publication dedicated to exposing Kremlin disinformation, the journalists Peter Pomerantsev and Michael Weiss argue that:

since at least 2008 Kremlin military and intelligence thinkers have been talking about information not in the familiar terms of “persuasion,” “public diplomacy” or even “propaganda,” but in weaponized terms, as a tool to confuse, blackmail, demoralize, subvert and paralyze.4

In understanding this we can see why Russian media has been interested in giving League of the South President Michael Hill and some others a platform in their media. Recently the League of the South was exultant in the fact that they were on Russian media.

http://leagueofthesouth.com/league-president-interviewed-on-russian-tv/

The Russians may not take the League of the South very seriously but want to assist any group that they feel could harm the United States of America and in the case of giving League of the South media access they are covering all their bets.

It would suit the Russians very well if a real secessionist movement would gain some traction in the United States.

At some point what the League of the South is doing is treason.

UPDATE:

This is another item of the Putin government supporting the neo-Confederate movement in the United States.

http://leagueofthesouth.com/the-league-of-the-south-takes-its-southern-nationalist-message-to-moscow/

League of the South President Michael Hill is pleased to announce that he spoke via Skype at an Anti-Globalist conference in Moscow on the topic “The Right of People for Self-Determination and Constructing a Multipolar World.”

I am trying to find out some information about the conference. This is a YouTube video of it. Doesn't seem like a major affair.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=688xDoLgAY4

The same video can be found at:

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2014/12/14/390167/moscow-hosts-antiglobalization-conference/

I don't know if the Putin government is giving the League of the South any financial resources, but being on Russian TV and being invited to conferences certainly must encourage the neo-Confederates and maintain moral when their agenda doesn't seem to be going anywhere. Also, it has the potential to raise their prestige in the eyes of other extremists and help them recruit members and retain members.

I have not indication so far that the Sons of Confederate Veterans, United Daughters of the Confederacy and the Abbeville Institute are connecting with Russian groups as part of an anti-Western effort.  The people at the Rockford Institute have been in contact with all sorts of reactionary groups in Europe and been sympathetic to reactionaries in Eastern Europe, but I haven't really paid too close attention to this. I think I will need to pay more attention to it in the future.

This article in the Dec. 2014 issue of Chronicles certain shows that they are supportive of Putin and his regime in Russia.

http://www.chroniclesmagazine.org/2014/December/38/12/magazine/article/10826302/

The support for neo-Confederates by the regime in Moscow is a disturbing development and needs to be watched closely.

Neo-Confederates and the definition of the "Megastate"

I am not sure there is a definitive definition of what a megastate is. I found definitions online that said it was a large geopolitical state. I suppose that everyone would agree that Russia and China and the United States are very large states in comparison to the rest of the states.

I think others would agree that Luxembourg, Andorra and Lichtenstein are not megastates.

Evidently there is however a broad interpretation on what is a megastate by neo-Confederates.

I refer to this posting on protest by a secession movement in Yemen.

http://lsrebellion.blogspot.com/2014/12/thousands-rally-for-independence-in.html

The blog posting states:

First communism, now the megastate. Slowly but surely, the bloody legacy of 19th- and 20th-century ideology is being dismantled and discarded.

Really, Yemen is a megastate? It might be that it is merely a conflict local in nature and doesn't represent any world wide trends.

Other "megastates" at the League of the South blogs are:

Spain:

http://lsrebellion.blogspot.com/2014/11/81-of-catalans-vote-for-independence.html

Italy:

http://lsrebellion.blogspot.com/2012/10/mass-rally-in-venice-to-call-for.html

United Kingdom:

http://lsrebellion.blogspot.com/2014/08/as-scots-weigh-independence-wales-takes.html

Belgium

http://lsrebellion.blogspot.com/2010/06/separatist-party-polls-strongly-in.html

and

http://lsrebellion.blogspot.com/2009/06/watching-artificial-borders-dissolve_09.html

The second posting states:

The age of the megastate, with its internal oppression to hold it together, and its belligerent foreign policy to expand its power, is past. Good riddance.

Belgium, a megastate?

The possible break up of Belgium relates to the reason that it was a state put together by diplomacy for a variety of reasons. Again there are unique local factors driving the break up of Belgium. It doesn't represent any global trend of devolution.

Finally all these proposed nations, Scotland, Wales, Flanders, Catalonia, Venice, etc. plan as the first thing on their agenda to apply to the European Union so they can exist. I think the European Union is a developing megastate.  They are It is just trading one capitol for another. They are also counting on NATO to provide security for Western Europe.

The Scottish secessionists even hoped to continue to use the British Pound.

This fascination and discussion about secession overseas by neo-Confederates is just them trying to convince themselves and others that secession is possible in the United States.

So far secession in the United States is just people blowing off steam when they are contacted by pollsters.

It might be YOUR church in YOUR city that is hosting a neo-Confederate group

People presume that since there church or denomination has passed some resolution regarding race and racism, or has some group discussing the issues regarding race that THEIR church would never lend its facilities to a neo-Confederate group.

Don't be so sure. Some churches make all sorts of claims about being concerned over the issue of racism, but they give neo-Confederate groups the use of their facilities.

So it would do readers well to ask their church or temple leaders whether they would lend the use of their facilities to a neo-Confederate groups in general and specifically the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) or the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV).

At this time it is not known which city the UDC will meet in 2015 or what church they will use. It might be your church in your city.

For that matter the SCV is meeting in Richardson, Texas (suburb of Dallas) in 2016 and Memphis, Tennessee in 2017 and it isn't known which church they will use.

So go and ask your church leaders.

Also, don't presume the SCV wouldn't meet in a synagogue.

Speaking at Barnes and Noble Bookstore Dec. 7th and signing books.

I will be speaking at Barnes and Noble Bookstore Dec. 7th and signing books.

I will be presenting a Power Point presentation on the neo-Confederate movement.

The details are at this link.

http://store-locator.barnesandnoble.com/store/2996?subtype=detailList&month=&day=ANY&sat=10#content

I have been working on a presentation since June 2014. I did a draft presentation and then presented it to people and got feed back. One of my good friends is an adjunct professor at John Hopkins University who gives Powerpoint presentations and was able to give me a lot of feed back on the structure and style of a Powerpoint presentation.

The other person was a good friend of mind who is very interested in current affairs and reviewed it towards the goal of does my presentation connect with the general public.

So there have been multiple revisions.

Besides informing some people about the neo-Confederate movement and selling some books which will help educate the public, I am hoping to connect with people and have this lead to other speaking events.

I have done a lot of research, and I have worked with reporters and scholars, and I have done letter writing campaigns, but I realize that I need to meet with the public and more directly connect. My goal is to get more people actively involved with fighting neo-Confederacy.

I do give a brief general survey of the neo-Confederates various extreme beliefs, but the presentation is focused on how neo-Confederates support a hierarchical and anti-democratic society.

From hating Lincoln to condemning the Statue of Liberty it is all about being against American democratic life.

If I get just a couple new speaking engagements I am on my way.

www.templeofdemocracy.com redesign switch over this Thanksgiving weekend

I will be switching over to a new web hoster and a redesigned website this Thanksgiving weekend.

For a while you will find both websites online mixed together.

In 48 hours the change over will be complete.

Neo-Confederates play with the facts on secession

The League of the South is reporting on a recent Catalan vote on secession.

http://www.lsrebellion.blogspot.com/2014/11/81-of-catalans-vote-for-independence.html

The headline proclaims "81% of Catalans Vote for Secession." Is that true? No.

The facts are in this article:

http://www.newsweek.com/spains-catalans-vote-secede-symbolic-ballot-turnout-low-283306

Turn out was very low as reported in "Newsweek."

"Turnout was also relatively low, at around 2.23 million out of 5.4 million potential voters."

The reason the turn out was low was because it wasn't a real ballot. It was at places run at by pro-independence groups and not official polling places. As reported.

The "consultation of citizens" plebiscite in the wealthy northeastern region followed a legal block by the central government against a more formal, albeit still non-binding ballot which regional leaders had originally pushed for.

Because of the legal restrictions set on it, the ballot was set up and manned by grassroots pro-independence organizations, and Spanish unionist parties argue that, even for that reason alone, it could not legitimately reflect the wishes of anyone.

So there isn't the overwhelming support for independence as represented by the League of the South. There is a lot of support for independence in Catalonia, but it very well might be less than a majority.

This is another League of the South headline:

"Venice votes to cut ties with Italy"

http://lsrebellion.blogspot.com/2014/03/venice-votes-to-cut-ties-with-italy.html

It was an online poll.

League of the South was hyping Scottish secession for some time. If you read their articles you would have thought that there was overwhelming support for it in Scotland.

Actually, though, when the vote came in the results showed a clear majority supported staying with the United Kingdom.

All these secession movements in Western Europe plan on having their new nation join the European Union which has greatly diminished the impact of national borders so functionally they will exist as a local unit n a very large state. Their capitol will be in Brussels.

Front page article in "Richmond Free Press" about Churches hosting the United Daughters of the Confederacy, St. Paul's Episcopal Church had dis-invited the United Daughters of the Confederacy, Historic Richmond Foundation doesn't seem to care that it is enabling neo-Confederates. UPDATE

The link to the article in the Richmond Free Press is:

http://issuu.com/richmondfreepress/docs/rfp_110614/1?e=13821893/10042171

UPDATE: Another link to the article which people might find easier to use.
http://richmondfreepress.com/news/2014/nov/07/confederates-hold-service-downtown-church/?page=1

You will need to click on it to enlarge it, and there is a square button to really enlarge it.

The article is on pages 1A and 4A at the bottom of the page. The issue is Vol. 23 No. 45, Nov. 6-8, 2014.

The Historic Richmond Foundation is defending their decision to rent to the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC).  Mary Jane Hogue's rationalizations show an organization which doesn't care about racism.

The UDC refused to respond to inquiries from the Richmond Free Press.

What was very interesting was this section of the article:

St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Downtown had hosted the UDC memorial service eight times since 1994 and agreed to host it again this year. But the church later rescinded the invitation, according to the church's rector, the Rev. Wallace Adams-Riley, after the UDC failed to agree to a meeting with congregation members to discuss the group's views and how they impact other people. 

"I've been here six years and questions grew among some of the people at St. Paul's wondering if hosting that was consistent with who we are at St. Paul's," Rev. Adams-Riley said. "We were wrestling with  that."  

He said UDC officially initially agreed to meet congregants, but then pulled out of the meeting. He said he then informed them they'd have to hold the memorial service elsewhere.

The Episcopal Church has chosen to reject the Confederacy and they are the first denomination to do so. It sets a good example for other churches and denominations.

This news story also shows that this issue will reach the public. Other churches will have to consider that their record will be before the public. I think that alone will bring an end to the practice.

Finally it shows that simple persistence can do a lot.

Liberty University and neo-Confederacy. A video lays out in the open their neo-Confederacy.

This video just has to be viewed to be believed. It is just awful.

However, I have picked up on indicators of neo-Confederacy and the Liberty University history department over the years. Now it is just in the open.

One year Liberty University held a mock trial of Abraham Lincoln and found him guilty.

http://vimeo.com/110217438


The Enduring Legacy of the Civil War from Titus Folks on Vimeo.

Wrote President of the Southern Baptist Convention and officers of the Ashley River Baptist Church and all the members of the Executive Board of the Southern Baptist Convention

I wrote a letter to Dr. Ronnie Floyd, President of the Southern Baptist Convention, all the board members of the Executive Committee as well as all the leaders of the Ashley River Baptist Church concerning the unfortunate decision of Ashley River Baptist Church to host the Sons of Confederate Veterans on their 2014 Reunion.

The letters are still working their way through the mail system as I type this post.

What is interesting is that the neo-Confederate movement has ridiculed the Southern Baptist Convention over their apology over slavery, yet the Ashley River Baptist Church has chosen to lend their facilities to a movement which mocks them.

I sent Dr. Floyd quite a bit of documentation. I think it will be somewhat surprising to the Southern Baptist to read the rather disrespectful and virulent condemnations of the Southern Baptist Church.

The letter sent to Dr. Floyd was sent by certified mail and the others were sent with proof of mailing.

The letter is as follows:

October 27, 2014

                                                                   Edward H. Sebesta

                                                                   

                                                                   edwardsebesta@gmail.com

Dr. Ronnie Floyd

President

The Executive Committee, Southern Baptist Convention

901 Commerce Street

Nashville, TN 37203-3699

Dear Dr. Floyd:

I regret to report that the Ashley River Baptist Church, a member of the Southern Baptist Convention, hosted an event for the 2014 National Reunion of the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV). It is reported in the July 30, 2014 issue of the Times Examiner.  I enclose a copy, and the article can be read online at http://www.timesexaminer.com/historical/1914-2014-national-reunion-of-sons-of-confederate-veterans.

The SCV is a group which promotes what I believe and I think any rational person would believe are extremist and racist beliefs as documented in an article by myself at Black Commentator, http://www.blackcommentator.com/526/526_confederacy_sebesta_guest_share.html. I enclose a copy. I do investigative research regarding the neo-Confederate movement. My research has been published by university presses, peer reviewed academic journals, as well as by Black Commentator. My resume is online at www.templeofdemocracy.com/resume.htm. I enclose a copy.

When churches lend neo-Confederate groups the use of their facilities they not only give them support through the use of their facilities but additionally they lend the prestige and credibility of their individual church and denomination to that group. The church is also party to the enabling the agenda of the neo-Confederates.

I am disappointed in the Ashley River Baptist Church actions. The Southern Baptist churches have had a record of not hosting the national conventions of neo-Confederate groups. For national conventions from 1990 to 2014 only one Southern Baptist church had hosted the United Daughters of the Confederacy, which was First Baptist Church of Columbia in South Carolina.  For 1990 to 2013 I don’t find any record of a Southern Baptist church hosting the national convention of the Sons of Confederate Veterans. I enclose tables of hosting churches and bar graphs of the hosting by denomination.  This information can also be found online at the web page www.templeofdemocracy.com/churchesoftheconfederacy.htm.

I had had written the four denominations leading in hosting neo-Confederate national convention services not to host the SCV: Episcopalians (both factions), United Methodist, Presbyterians and Roman Catholics (See again enclosed bar graphs). There were indications that the SCV was having difficulties finding a church.

I did not write any organizations of Southern Baptists in South Carolina since I thought Southern Baptists wouldn’t do such a thing. The Southern Baptist church had seemed to be moving forward on the issue of race with such notable actions as the 1995 apology for slavery. It had seemed that the Southern Baptists comprehended that Christianity was a global effort with no one race or nation privileged over another. Yet this doesn’t seem to be the situation.

The neo-Confederate movement besides bringing back into print nearly every antebellum book defending slavery have also been publishing some modern theological defenses of slavery.

The neo-Confederates have been condemning the Southern Baptist Convention for their apology regarding slavery since the resolution was passed in 1995. (http://www.sbc.net/resolutions/899).  The notorious Southern Partisan had two condemnations published. [2^nd Quarter, Vol. 15, 1995, pp. 7 Wesley Pruden; 3^rd Quarter, Vol. 15, 1995, pp. 56 Samuel Francis. Documentation enclosed.]

Though the Sons of Confederate Veterans has not directly condemned the Southern Baptists for their resolution, they have strongly promoted and praised the writings that have condemned the Southern Baptists.

Gary Lee Roper has written a book, “Antebellum Slavery: An Orthodox View,” 2008, advocating a pro-slavery theology, in which on pages 281-82 he condemns the Southern Baptist apology and calls those who passed it “pompous ignoramus.” I enclose documentation.

This book is promoted and praised by the Sons of Confederate Veterans in their publication Chaplain’s Corps Chronicles of the Sons of Confederate Veterans. In the April 2008 issue the SCV Chaplain’s Corps praises the book and tells the readers it is a “must read.” Documentation enclosed.  (http://www.scv.org/pdf/chaplains/2008_Apr.pdf ).

The book is also sold in the SCV catalog, SCV’s online store, and in their official publication Confederate Veteran. I enclose documentation.

Walter D. Kennedy has written a book “Myths of American Slavery,” Pelican Publishing Company, 2003. The Southern Baptists are denounced for their apology on pages 88-96 in a section titled “Radical Influence in the Southern Baptist Convention,” in a chapter titled “Abolitionism Versus Christianity.” On page 89 the author states:

“The passing of the so-called Racial Reconciliation Resolution by the assembled delegates defamed and otherwise slandered the good name of Southern Baptists of the past 150 years. The resolution is nothing more than liberal double-speak for an act of cultural genocide against the South.”

Elsewhere on page 89 the resolution is called “infamous” and the author states, “The duped delegates regurgitated on cue the abolitionist (i.e. liberal) propaganda about the institution of African servitude and life in the Old South.” I enclose documentation.

This book is sold in the SCV catalog, SCV’s online store, and in their official publication Confederate Veteran. I enclose documentation.

The Southern Baptists may have apologized over slavery in 1995 but in 2014 it is aiding and abetting an organization that is promoting pro-slavery theology and a neo-Confederate ideology that condemns the Southern Baptist Convention.

One concern I have developed in investigating neo-Confederate groups is how they are enabled by mainstream organizations such as corporations, churches, government bodies and others. So I have decided to ask these groups to reconsider their relations with specific neo-Confederate groups. It is all well and good that I have written on extremist Confederate Christian nationalists for the Canadian Review of American Studies (http://www.templeofdemocracy.com/ConfederateChristianNationalism.pdf), but I have realized that the enabling of a racist historical consciousness in the general public and racist neo-Confederate groups by mainstream churches is as detrimental to America as these fringe churches referred to in my paper. The Christianity advocated by the SCV is largely similar. You can review their Chaplain’s Chronicle online at http://www.scv.org/about/chaplainsChronicle.php and http://chaplain-in-chief.com/.

In the summer of 2013 I had a successful campaign getting corporations to stop supporting the SCV as reported in a Black Commentator article which is available online at a free guest link at http://www.blackcommentator2.com/527_cover_scv_donation_loss_sebesta_guest.html. (Link is also in my online resume.) It took eight days for this campaign to succeed. I regret to say that so far the temples of Mammon were much more willing to give up neo-Confederacy than the churches of Christ.

I ask that the churches of the Southern Baptist Convention not host the events of neo-Confederate organizations.

Finally as other denominations inevitably move away from hosting neo-Confederate groups the neo-Confederate groups will seek alternatives and the Southern Baptist Convention risks being the leading church hosting neo-Confederate organizations. This transition seems to have already started.

                                                                   Sincerely Yours,

                                                                   Edward H. Sebesta

PS: My website is undergoing redesign, but there will be redirects for all the pages that were on www.templeofdemocracy.com and the web pages mentioned should be easily found. The resume will be Curriculum Vitae, etc.

CC:  See the tables on the following pages:

No	Name	Title	Mailing Address
1	Dr. Ronnie Floyd	President	The Executive Committee, SBC, 901 Commerce St., Nashville, TN 37203-3699
2	Michael W. Routt	Chairman Executive Committee	Senior Pastor Circle Drive Baptist Church, 801 N Circle Dr, Colorado Springs, CO 80909
3	John L. Yeats	Vice Chairman Executive Committee	Executive Director Missouri Baptist Convention, 400 E High St, Jefferson City, MO 65101
4	Carol A. Yarber	Secretary Executive Committee	Retired Office manager, Athens, TX
5	Shane B. Hall	Admin. Comm. Chair Executive Committee	Pastor First Southern Baptist Church, 6400 S Sooner Rd, Oklahoma City, OK 73135
6	Stephen N. Rummage	Bus. & Fin. Comm. Chair	Senior Pastor Bell Shoals Baptist Church, 2102 Bell Shoals Rd, Brandon, FL 33511
7	Benjamin F. Kelley	CP Comm. Chair	Vice President/Executive Director Baptist Health Care Foundation, Montgomery, AL
8	Debby Akerman	Executive Committee Member	Myrtle Beach, SC, WMU national President. 100 Missionary Ridge Dr, Birmingham, AL 35242
9	Kenneth W. Alford	Executive Committee Member	Senior Pastor Crossroads Baptist Church, 3001 Country Club Dr, Valdosta, GA 31602
10	James W. Averett	Executive Committee Member	Retired Southern Company, Birmingham, AL
11	Mark H. Ballard	Executive Committee Member	President Northeastern Baptist College, Northeastern Baptist College PO Box 4600 Bennington, VT 05201-4600
12	Tom Biles	Executive Committee Member	Executive Director Tampa Bay Baptist Assocaiton, 1060 W Busch Blvd, Tampa, FL 33612
13	Charles W. Boling	Executive Committee Member	Director of Missions, Williamson Baptist Assoc., 10093 Old Bainbridge Trail, Marion, IL 62959
14	Wilma J. Booth	Executive Committee Member	Retired teacher, Elgin, IL
15	Tim W. Brasher	Executive Committee Member	CEO, Scottsdale, AZ
16	Charles R. Chambers	Executive Committee Member	CFO Consultant, First Baptist, Toledo, OH
17	M. Kent Choate	Executive Committee Member	Community Groups Pastor, The Church At, Broken Arrow, OK SEND VIA HEADQUARTERS
18	Tony L. Crisp	Executive Committee Member	Eastanalle Baptist Church, 482 County Road 725, Riceville, TN 37370
19	B. Scott Davis	Executive Committee Member	Senior Pastor Pitts Baptist Chuch, 140 Pitts School Rd NW, Concord, NC 28027
20	Eddie W. DeHondt, Jr.	Executive Committee Member	Minister Rose Park Baptist Church, 5560 Buncombe Rd, Shreveport, LA 71129
21	Procopio U. DeLeon	Executive Committee Member	Senior Scientist, Laurel Springs, NJ.
22	David O. Dykes	Executive Committee Member	Pastor Green Acres Baptist Church, 1607 Troup Hwy, Tyler, TX 75701
23	J. Paul Fleming	Executive Committee Member	Executive Pastor Forestville Baptist Church, 2 Old McElhaney Rd, Greenville, SC 29617
24	Robert O. Freshour	Executive Committee Member	Pastor First Baptist Church-South Lyon, 60820 Marjorie Ann St, South Lyon, MI 48178
25	James W. Gregory	Executive Committee Member	Senior Pastor First Southern Baptist Church,1400 N 3rd E, Mountain Home, ID 83647
26	Ron F. Hale	Executive Committee Member	Senior Adult/Pastoral Care, West Jackson Baptist Church, 580 Oil Well Rd, Jackson, TN 38305
27	David A. Hall	Executive Committee Member	Senior Pastor, Oak Grove Baptist Chuch, 2106 Churchville Rd, Bel Air, MD 21015
28	David E. Hamilton	Executive Committee Member	Pastor West Heights Baptist Church, 336 W Oxford St, Pontotoc, MS 38863
29	Ted I. Haney	Executive Committee Member	Financial Planner, Lynn Haven, FL
30	Bedford F. Hanson	Executive Committee Member	Senior Pastor Mountain View Baptist Church, 4250 Poison Spider Rd, Mills, WY 82604
31	Phil Harper	Executive Committee Member	Accounting Professor, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN
32	Phillip Herring	Executive Committee Member	Minister of Education, First Baptist Church, 312 Kempsville Rd, Norfolk, VA 23502
33	Timonthy Hight	Executive Committee Member	Senior Pastor Grace Life Baptist Church, 1640 Peppers Ferry Road, Christiansburg, VA 24073
34	Mike Holloway	Executive Committee Member	Senior Pastor Cook Baptist Church, 2000 Cooktown Rd, Ruston, LA 71270
35	Rebecca S. Illingsworth	Executive Committee Member	Legal Secretary/Recruiting Assistance, Royse City, TX
36	Ralph Jenkins	Executive Committee Member	Pastor Airway Hieghts Baptist Church, 12322 W Sunset Hwy, Airway Heights, WA 99001
37	William E. Kinchen	Executive Committee Member	Semi-retired insurance, Jackson, MS
38	David W. King	Executive Committee Member	Rancher, Stanley, NM
39	Bobby L. Kirk	Executive Committee Member	Farmer, Real Estate Broker, Doddsville, MS
40	Franklin D. Kovaleski	Executive Committee Member	Retired NFHS, Anderson, IN
41	Michael L. Lawson	Executive Committee Member	Senior Pastor First Baptist Church, 400 S. Travis St., Sherman, TX  75090
42	Steven W. Loggins	Executive Committee Member	Director of Missions, Mount Olive, AL
43	R. Ron Madison	Executive Committee Member	Senior Pastor Mount Zion Baptist Church, 228 Mt Zion Rd, Huntsville, AL 35806
44	Timothy D. Maynard	Executive Committee Member	Pastor Fruit Cove Baptist Church, 501 Florida 13, St Johns, FL 32259
45	Paul E. McPherson	Executive Committee Member	Retired CPA, Magnolia, AR
46	Christopher D. Metcalf	Executive Committee Member	Pastor Lihue Baptist Church, 3223 Elua St, Lihue, HI 96766
47	Terry H. Montgomery	Executive Committee Member	President/CEO Charlotte, NC
48	John H. Moore	Executive Committee Member	Retired Physician, Associate Pastor Branson First Baptist Church, 400 S Sunshine St, Branson, MO 65616
49	D. Wayne Myrick	Executive Committee Member	CEO, MG Design & Construction, Verbena, AL
50	Robert Neely	Executive Committee Member	Pastoral Associate/Sales, Spartenburg, SC
51	Timothy A. Ohis	Executive Committee Member	Pastor Believers Southern Baptist Church, 13909 West 21st St N, Wichita, KS 67235
52	L. Douglas Passmore	Executive Committee Member	Pastor First Baptist East, 3302 SE Lee Blvd, Lawton, OK 73501
53	Jeff L. Paul	Executive Committee Member	Pastor First Baptist Church, 302 S Missouri St, Archie, MO 64725
54	Pat J. Pavlian	Executive Committee Member	Mortgage Banker, Highland, CA
55	David C. Perdue	Executive Committee Member	Business, Memphis, TN
56	Michael E. Pope	Executive Committee Member	Dentist, Somerset, TN
57	Bill Price	Executive Committee Member	Vocational Evangelist, Covington, GA
58	James A. Ray	Executive Committee Member	Banker, Clearwater, FL
59	Charles Rhinehart	Executive Committee Member	Engineer, Youngsville, LA
60	Wayne Robertson	Executive Committee Member	Pastor Morningside Baptist Church, 425 Connell Rd, Valdosta, GA 31602
61	Lovina K. Rush	Executive Committee Member	Retired Commerce Bank, Holt, MO
62	Cheryl S. Samples	Executive Committee Member	Retired Educator, Dallas, GA
63	Michael L. Scifres	Executive Committee Member	Retired pharmacist, Eufaula, OK
64	Jay F. Shell	Executive Committee Member	Attorney, Batesville, AR
65	John Mark Simmons	Executive Committee Member	Senior Pastor Highland Hills Baptist Church,  615 College Dr, Henderson, NV 89002
66	Danny S. Sinquefield	Executive Committee Member	Pastor Faith Baptist Church, 2775 Shelby St, Bartlett, TN 38134
67	Rotland E. Slade	Executive Committee Member	Pastor Meridian Southern Baptist Church, 660 S 3rd St, El Cajon, CA 92019
68	John E. Smith	Executive Committee Member	Pastor Munfordville Baptist Church, 501 N West St, Munfordville, KY 42765
69	Roger L. Spradlin	Executive Committee Member	Senior Pastor Valley Baptist Church, 4800 Fruitvale Ave, Bakersfield, CA 93308
70	Robert E. Stennett	Executive Committee Member	Attorney, Scott Depot, WV
71	Michael R. Stone	Executive Committee Member	Pastor Emannual Baptist Church, 217 W Carter Ave, Blackshear, GA 31516
72	Dale R. Suel	Executive Committee Member	Senior Pastor Amherst Baptist Church, 100 Willow Ridge Dr, Amherst, NY 14228
73	Robert D. Summerlin	Executive Committee Member	Senior Pastor Lone Oak First Baptist Church, 3601 Lone Oak Rd, Paducah, KY 42003
74	Stephen K. Swofford	Executive Committee Member	Pastor First Baptist Church, 610 S Goliad St, Rockwall, TX 75087
75	Thomas B. Tucker III	Executive Committee Member	Senior Pastor Sisk Memorial Baptist Church, 115 Massey St, Fort Mill, SC 29715
76	G. Harris Waner Jr.	Executive Committee Member	Attorney, Calloway, VA
77	Jeffrey B. Watson	Executive Committee Member	Attorney, Winston-Salem, NC
78	Stanley J. Welch	Executive Committee Member	Senior Pastor West Asheville Baptist Church, 926 Haywood Rd, Asheville, NC 28806
79	Bradford M. Wheeler	Executive Committee Member	Pastor Capitol Hill Baptist Church,  525 A St NE, Washington, DC 20002
80	Bill D. Whitaker	Executive Committee Member	Retired Pastor, Glasgow Baptist Church, 401 S Green St, Glasgow, KY 42141
81	Andy H. Wilson	Executive Committee Member	Executive Leader -- Ministry & Operations, First Baptist Church, Springdale, AR. 1709 Johnson Rd, Springdale, AR 72762
82	Rev. Dave Patterson	Senior Pastor	Ashley River Baptist Church, 1101 Savannah Highway, Charleston, SC 29407
83	Rev. Ron Shearer	Pastor of Education	Ashley River Baptist Church, 1101 Savannah Highway, Charleston, SC 29407
84	Rev. David Martin Sr.	Pastor of Worship	Ashley River Baptist Church, 1101 Savannah Highway, Charleston, SC 29407
85	Rev. Kent Williams	Pastor of Youth and Missions	Ashley River Baptist Church, 1101 Savannah Highway, Charleston, SC 29407
86	Ms. Lauren Thomas	Director for Children's Ministries	Ashley River Baptist Church, 1101 Savannah Highway, Charleston, SC 29407
87	Mr. Albert Jenkins	Ministry Assistant for Finance	Ashley River Baptist Church, 1101 Savannah Highway, Charleston, SC 29407
88	Ms. Lynn Chamberlain	Ministry Assistant	Ashley River Baptist Church, 1101 Savannah Highway, Charleston, SC 29407
89	Mrs. Veronica Rodoski	Ministry Assistant	Ashley River Baptist Church, 1101 Savannah Highway, Charleston, SC 29407
90	Mr. Fred Lane	Head of Maintenance Department	Ashley River Baptist Church, 1101 Savannah Highway, Charleston, SC 29407
91	Ms. Heather McDonald	Child Development Director	Ashley River Baptist Church, 1101 Savannah Highway, Charleston, SC 29407
92	Mrs. Lindsay Welch	Child Development Assistant Director	Ashley River Baptist Church, 1101 Savannah Highway, Charleston, SC 29407

Continued next page.

No.	Denomination	Officer	Title	Address
1	National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc.	Dr. Jerry Young	President Elect	Pastor Dr. Jerry Young, New Hope Baptist Church,  5202 Watkins Dr., Jackson, MS 39206
2	National Baptist Convention of America International Inc.	Rev. Samuel C. Tolbert Jr.	President Elect	National Baptist Convention of America International, Inc., 777 S R L Thornton Freeway, Suite # 210, Dallas, Texas 75203
3	National Missionary Baptist Convention of America	Dr. Nehemiah Davis	National President	NMBCA, 6925 Wofford Dr., Dallas, Texas 75227
4	Progressive National Baptist Conventions, Inc.	Dr. James C. Perkins	President	PROGRESSIVE NATIONAL BAPTIST CONVENTION, INC., 601 - 50th Street, NE , Washington, DC  20019
5	Full Gospel Baptist Church	Bishop Paul S. Morton Sr.	Presiding Bishop	Bishop Paul S. Morton Ministries, 3350 Greenbriar Pkwy SW, Atlanta, GA 30331, United States of America
6	Full Gospel Baptist Church	Bishop John W. Walker III	Presiding Bishop-Elect	Bishop Joseph Walker Ministries, P.O. Box 330374, Nashville, TN 37203