Churches of the Confederacy web pages are updated

I have updated all the web pages that go with www.templeofdemocracy.com/churchesoftheconfederacy.htm.

Roman Catholic Diocese of Richmond Bishop's letter about neo-Confederates

I got a short letter from Most Rev. Francis X. DiLorenzo of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Richmond in Virginia.

I had written him about the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) and the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC). He writes that he knows of no such groups meeting at the Roman Catholic churches. Which is correct, I don't know of any either. The letter was passed to a staff member.

What is important is that know the Diocese of Richmond does know about the issue. They don't currently host any neo-Confederate groups, but being informed about the issue, I think they will make sure they don't host any in the future in order to avoid controversy. The letter also shows that they take the issue seriously enough to write me.

When the Episcopal church in the Richmond area give up the Confederacy the Roman Catholic church won't be an alternative.

I think that as more and more churches receive letters the word is going to get around about this issue. Church leaders can easily see that this is a mess that is much easier to avoid than getting yourself out of it.

I haven't heard back from the bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Dallas or the Diocese of Charleston. I am giving matters a couple months before the write Pope Francis.

I am still writing a lot of churches. Once I am done I will be writing social justice groups in the various denominations involved.

Public Broadcasting System is showing a series titled "The Abolitionists"

The Public Broadcasting System (PBS) is showing a series titled "The Abolitionists." The following link is to a web page about the series.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/abolitionists/

They have video clips at the web page and a wealth of information.

I think this is wonderful. They were courageous individuals who changed our nation and set it on the path of abolishing slavery.

Segments of the series are online at You Tube.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=the+abolitionists&sm=1

I think that there is a cultural turning away from the "Gone With the Wind" mentality.

The abolitionists portrayed are, in order of appearance, Angelina Grimke', Frederick Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and John Brown.

It will be interesting to see how the public judges churches that enable neo-Confederate groups, in contrasting their lack of courage and concern with the heroic abolitionists.

John Barr will be speaking about his book, "Loathing Lincoln," at the Abraham Lincoln Book Store in Chicago, Brazos Bookstore in Houston

On April 14, 2014 John Barr will be speaking at the Brazos Book Store in Houston, Texas starting at 7pm.

The link to the event is http://www.brazosbookstore.com/event/john-barr-loathing-lincoln.

The book store is at 2421 Bissonnet St., Houston, Texas 77005-1451. The following is a link to a Google maps of the book store's location.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/2421+Bissonnet+St/@29.7251977,-95.4163249,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x8640c0f5677a6a2d:0x4419dc4720f65159


John Barr will be speaking about his book, "Loathing Lincoln," at the Abraham Lincoln book store in Chicago, Illinois on May 24, 2014 at Noon.

The link for the events at the Abraham Lincoln book store is at:

http://www.alincolnbookshop.com/html/events.htm

The address is 357 West Chicago Avenue - Chicago, IL 60654. Below is a google maps link for the location.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/357+W+Chicago+Ave/@41.8962414,-87.637954,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x880fd34ab0023cad:0x240ce9cd7dc78a53

John Barr is currently getting his blogs, Facebook page, website started and I will be blogging on them as soon as he gets them going.

More speaking engagements are planned and as soon as I know of them I will be blogging about them.

The situation is developing and Barr's book is getting strong interest.

Breaking News: Neo-Confederate tries to win Anne Arundel County Democratic Party Committee seat. UPDATE:

I just was informed about this web page

http://www.betsybury.com/

If you go down the page you find out that Pastor David Whitney of the neo-Confederate Institute on the Constitution (IOTC) is running against her.

The IOTC web is http://www.theamericanview.com/

The web address is somewhat laughable since it really is the Confederate View.

Pastor Whitney is running for a Democratic Central Committee seat. The reason why this is a matter of concern is that people are generally fairly unaware of this office, the turn out can be very low, and it would be possible for a small group to win if the public was not alerted to the problem.

This article in the American Review of American Studies at the Univ. of Toronto gives a good idea of the religious beliefs of the neo-Confederate movement.

http://www.templeofdemocracy.com/ConfederateChristianNationalism.pdf

Worked today and got back and started to look into this further.

Pastor David Whitney doesn't like the Harlem Shake in an article where some Christian leaders express opposition to Christian students doing the Harlem Shake.

http://www.christianpost.com/news/have-wild-videos-of-christians-doing-the-harlem-shake-crossed-the-line-97713/

With that in mind I offer these www.youtube.com videos of students at Christian institutions doing the Harlem Shake. Horrors! Some of these Christian students seem to be having fun! Oh the ungodliness of it all. ;-).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LvwGiNyXvQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ea7seDz6H_E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iu6vqDLwRqQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aF11jCXvkDs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmSEMz67ybk

The use of the term "flag flap" as revealing of the attitudes of the user

One of the frequently used phrases in reporting the news on the controversies regarding the use of the Confederate flag in public life is to use the phrase, "flag flap." This needs to be recognized as the editorial comment it is. The use of the phrase is a comment that the topic of controversy is trivial.

This dismissive tone is never taken in reporting holocaust deniers. You won't see an article titled or using the belittling phrases, "holocaust hassle," "history hiccup," "history hissyfit," or "holocaust flap."

Debates over American flag burning aren't dismissed as "Flag Flaps" either, but are reported as a serious issue.

Confederate identified governments and a Confederate identified landscape is a real issue. When a government body decides to use a Confederate flag or a place decides to use a Confederate flag they are defining who they are, their identity, and they are racializing the landscape. Attempting to achieve a Confederate identity or give a location a Confederate identity is a serious issue.

The trivializing language used for reporting Confederate flag controversies as opposed to controversies on the holocaust of the Jews is because, rightly so, we see Jewish people as being part of "us," and for many reporters, "African Americans" are still seen as "them." The use of the term "Flag flap" is revealing of the journalists' or writers most interior attitudes on race.

Also, I feel the constant use of the term "Flag Flap" is a means of defending the Confederate flag and symbols, by denigrating the opposition to them as being wrongly pre-occupied with triviality. The use of the term "flag flap" is a subtle defense of the status quo, thus a defense of the Confederate flag.

Wonders never cease, "Washington Post" Op-Ed argues that Democrats in the South should take a public stand against the Confederate flag

I was just astounded that the Washington Post ran this Op-Ed by Drew Westen at Emory University in Georgia arguing that the Democrats should take a public stand against the Confederate flag. Mudcat Sanders must be having a fit.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/how-georgia-democrats-should-confront-a-confederate-flag-license-plate/2014/03/21/7b8da8ac-add7-11e3-a49e-76adc9210f19_story.html

Writing about the Republican campaign strategy in the Georgia gubernatorial race:

This year, the strategy has taken the form of a debate about custom license plates — in particular, a Georgia license plate sporting a broad, bold display of the Confederate battle flag. Democrats have traditionally struggled to counter such race-baiting. And Republicans are wasting no time in running Southern pride and prejudice up the flagpole against the two most promising Democrats to run for statewide office in Georgia in a decade: Jason Carter, grandson of President Jimmy Carter and a candidate for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination; and Michelle Nunn, daughter of the popular Democratic senator Sam Nunn and a candidate for the U.S. Senate.

Westen argues to oppose this strategy the Democrats should:

Too often, Democrats have dealt with racial issues by avoiding them. Research shows that’s the wrong strategy, particularly in the South. Speaking directly about race allows our conscious values — which tend to be intolerant of racial intolerance, even in the heart of Dixie — to override our unconscious prejudices, which control our behavior when we’re not looking, or when other people aren’t, as in the voting booth. The best way to handle this kind of dog-whistle politics is to expose it for what it is.

Westen is right, the strategy of the Democrats had been to avoid the Confederate flag issue as much as possible in the hope of shaking loose a few extra white votes. Mudcat Sanders was a political consultant who argued for this position. In one article I read that his bed had a Confederate battle flag bed spread which is a sort of obvious and idiotic way of making a statement. (If some political operatives use dog whistles then Sanders was using a fog horn.) The Washington Post as a consequence of this policy and as a consequence of being the house publication of the Democratic party has avoided really critically examining the Lost Cause or arguing against the Lost Cause. I suppose also the Graham family that had owned the paper didn't want relatives or people at the club or acquaintances with Confederate ancestors and Lost Cause attitudes complaining either.

So I am so amazed to see this article. On the other hand I think that this change in attitude is confined to the Confederate battle flag and isn't intended to challenge the Lost Cause generally, but still it is a major shift for the Democrats in the South. Also, once you decide the Confederate flag isn't really desirable you are forced to engage the Lost Cause. The Democrats will be slow learners but I think they will learn.

For the Washington Post it certainly is a surprise. This is the third major article in the Post indicating a shift regarding the Lost Cause.

Not too long ago there was this Washington Post blog asking why Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson are in the Washington National Cathedral. This was known by a lot of people previously, but it wasn't commented on.I refer to the Post blog in this posting.

http://newtknight.blogspot.com/2013/12/washington-post-columnist-john-kelly.html#.Uy21TfldWSo

Then there is this Washington Post column by Colbert King likening the Republicans to the Confederacy.I refer to it at this posting.

http://newtknight.blogspot.com/2013/10/washington-post-columnist-colbert-king.html#.Uy21jfldWSo

I think some Democrats have figured out that there really isn't a reason to vote for them unless they represent a choice for the voters.

Former president Jimmy Carter is somewhat fond of the Confederacy and so it would be interesting to what extent Jason Carter will give up the Lost Cause or how he will frame the argument against the Confederate battle flag.

"Gawker" has article on League of the South

Gawker, an online news source, had an article on the League of the South. It is online here:

http://gawker.com/inside-the-american-id-chilling-with-the-south-s-new-s-1547070777

A reporter for Gawker went to a League of the South protest against immigration and Republican Florida U.S. Senator Marcio Rubio for his policies regarding immigration. The League of the South billboard with the word "SECEDE" has attracted local attention which is what billboards are designed to do, but in this case there is extra attention since you don't often see a billboard urging secession.

Link to League of the South web page on demonstration.  Link to Facebook page on demonstration.

Link to League of the South web page about the billboard.

What is of notice regarding the billboard is that the League of the South has the money to pay for it. Billboards cost a lot of money. I thought the League of the South was just a remnant of former self and would be just fading away over time. They have a physical headquarters also.  So they seem to be persisting, perhaps growing..

They also seem to have become activist group rather than a perpetual study committee.

Adam Weinstein also notes how the League of the South manages the media.

The way I met Hill was this: I started talking to Snuffy Smith with the Liberian flag, and three minutes later, Hill came urgently striding over like a recess teacher on the playground. "Media?" he asked. "Talk to me. Talk to me."

Michael Hill actually denied being neo-Confederate to the reporter. Which shows that neo-Confederates will say anything if it is expedient. Weinstein reports:

As suspect as that talk may sound, Hill insists his group is not neo-Confederate: "We're not so blind as to think that we can turn back the clock and have things the way that it was 100, 150 years ago, and we don't want to do that. We're men and women who live in the age that we've been placed, and we're not romantic dreamers of some idyllic past or something like that." 

Hill's Facebook page suggests otherwise. In late January, for example, he posted a note celebrating the birthdays of Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. "[L]et us emulate them and continue the honorable cause that motivated these two noble Southern men—the survival, well being, and independence of the Southern people," he wrote.

The following day was MLK Day, so Hill added another thought. "Note: If you wish to honor Martin Luther King, Jr. please go elsewhere. He is not one of us," he wrote of the Atlanta-born Southern preacher.

The read learns that the neo-Confederate movement can be less than candid.

Weinstein reports Hill Facebook posting the next day where Hill makes his views clear: 

On this day when the racial propagandizing of America reaches it[s] ugly zenith, I offer a simple photo graph of Johannesburg, South Africa, in 1952 and ask you to contrast it with the same city today. Or with Detroit, Memphis, Birmingham, etc, etc. When will we stop believing lies and turn this situation around for the very preservation of our civilization?

Weinstein is perceptive enough to see how neo-Confederacy could have popular appeal and that people should not just laugh them off:

Perhaps this scene reinforces the League's reputation as a comical fringe element, a gaggle of old racist Lost Cause types who dream of the Confederate battle flag again gracing their statehouses, who lament the Union's retardation of their familial livelihoods. And their manhoods. "There were more men in America in 1776 than there are today," Hill recently wrote on Facebook. "[I]t can be changed, you know. Just 'man up,' as they say!"

But intellectual elites and newsmen caricature this movement at their own peril. One of the most famous Southern revivalists of the last century wrote a conservative manifesto titled "Ideas Have Consequences," and in America, in 2014, the League of the South's ideas are not without consequence.

Beyond its race-tinged Dixie jingoism, much of the League's public rhetoric is in line with a wider American attitude. It emphasizes truly small government—the dictatorship of the individual, the republic of the family, the overthrow of the cultural and bureaucratic forces that the League believes threaten our insular networks and affinity groups.

This dovetails not simply with neo-Confederacy and conservatism but with a broader, bipartisan disillusionment with government and mass media—the contemporary ethos that elevates selves and loved ones above the din of 308 million meatsticks screaming, stamping, belching, reaching nothing but the most tenuous consensus on anything enduring. Get government out of the way. Abolish artificial ties with strangers. Focus on the immediate, the personal, the deeply felt—"faith, family, and folk," as the League puts it.

In the recent decade we have seen neo-Confederate ideas slip into the mainstream such as nullification. Weinstein realizes that the neo-Confederate movement has a potential to be a serious problem. 

Richard Weaver who wrote "Ideas Have Consequences" also wrote a key founding book of the neo-Confederate movement, "The Southern Tradition at Bay," edited by M.E. Bradford and George Core. Core and Bradford explained in the book that Richard Weaver's conservative ideas were neo-Confederate ideas reformulated to appeal to broader audiences.

The article has, if I understand the indicators by it, 29,000+ readers and has been shared. So it does help people become aware of the neo-Confederate movement and be warned. However, it also helps the League of the South get new members.  However, I think that this article is overall good in that it is an accurate portrayal of the League of the South revealing that they have a racist agenda and also importantly that they try to not represent it to the media. Importantly, Weinstein sees that the neo-Confederate movement could have a broader appeal and is a potential menace. 

Letter from the Archdiocese of San Antonio

I got a letter from the Archbishop of San Antonio. The letter opens with the following opening paragraph which was a quote as follows:

"Every type of discrimination, whether social or cultural, whether based on sex race, color, social condition, language or religion, is to be overcome and eradicated as contrary to God's intent." -- Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World (Guadium et Spes), 29." 

The Archbishop thanks me for the information that I have send and informs me that they will "do our best to never let our sanctuaries be co-opted by any message that stands against the truth of the Gospel of Christ." Doesn't exactly say that they won't let the Sons of Confederate Veterans meet at their churches.

However, as for the Dallas Diocese the Archbishop informs me that he doesn't have "pastorship of those parishes there." The Archdiocese of San Antonio includes Dallas so I don't understand how he doesn't have influence there as to policy. I will have to do a follow up letter.

I do appreciate knowing about "Gaudium et Spes," and will follow up with research concerning it. However a resolution or policy only is of real substance if it is implemented.

I have some more letters to write to Roman Catholic leaders in the United States then if not satisfactory I will be writing Pope Francis. I haven't heard back from the Diocese of Charleston and it has been some time, but I still need to wait for the replies from the Archdiocese of Baltimore and the Diocese of Richmond.

United Daughters of the Confederacy realizes that they are an embarrassment to the churches

The United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) has realized that they are an embarrassment to the churches. They are going into stealth mode.

If you view this web page http://www.ncudc.org/2015GeneralConv.html today (3/16/2014) about the North Carolina Division of the UDC you will notice that they are planning on having a church service for their 2015 reunion at a church in downtown Raleigh, NC.

However, if you go to the Internet archive and view their web page as it was on Jan. 1, 2014:

https://web.archive.org/web/20131109190519/http://www.ncudc.org/2015GeneralConv.html

The above link stopped working, try this link below.

https://web.archive.org/web/20130611041742/http://ncudc.org/2015GeneralConv.html

You would see that they are planning to have their memorial service at Edenton Street United Methodist Church.

I have a printed out Google Cache page showing that as late as Jan. 22, 2014 the web page mentioned Edenton Street United Methodist Church. http://esumc.org/

Edenton Street United Methodist Church also runs The Gathering which is at this link. http://estreetgathering.net/ They are current with the trends, they are multiracial, and it might be that they are sharing space occasionally with the UDC.

The Edenton Street United Methodist Church has a concert for Black History Month:  http://esumc.org/news-item/concert-for-black-history-month/ and they were listed as the church for the North Carolina Division UDC.

There is no reason that the UDC would hide the fact that they are meeting at the Edenton Street United Methodist Church unless they realized their accommodation by the Edenton Street United Methodist Church would be an embarrassment to the Edenton Street United Methodist Church.

It might be argued that the church name was dropped from the North Carolina UDC web page for the 2015 reunion so Ed Sebesta wouldn't know about it. Certainly that is one reason. But if the UDC's presence at the Edenton Street United Methodist Church wasn't embarrassing my writing to the church would have no effect and my being aware of this reunion at Edenton Street United Methodist Church would have no effect. If the Edenton Street United Methodist Church thought hosting the UDC was a good thing they would put it on their website.

There are two important things in this recent development.

1. The UDC has realized it is an embarrassment to churches. They are starting to pull the names of the churches from their schedules to spare the church embarrassment. The UDC is acknowledging that they are an embarrassment through their actions and demonstrating through their actions that they realize that a large fraction of the public has a negative perception of them and that their public association with a church would undermine the church's reputation. Also by keeping the name hidden of the church they plan on meeting at they communicate to the membership that they are undesirables.

2. The UDC has listed what churches they will be meeting at as one of the positive features of their conventions. If they stop listing the church they give up a selling point of the convention.

3. As they cover up their involvements with churches they start writing themselves out of the historical record.

At some point the UDC will be pulling the name of the churches from their published schedules for the upcoming conventions and won't be mentioning the churches in their reports for the convention.

Additionally once they start sneaking about to have their memorial services at a church they then make the church a collaborator. It can't be imagined that the church leadership would be unaware that the memorial service is being conducted in such a way to avoid pubic scrutiny as the church leadership observes that their church name is not listed on the UDC schedule and as the topic of churches' hosting neo-Confederate groups becomes more and more a matter for discussion among the public. The church leadership thus transitions from being an witting passive host to being an active supporter of the UDC.

Also, if something is being done covertly, secretly, isn't it a mystery, a subject of interest? Isn't their a potential of an expose'? Doesn't it become a dirty secret?

Also, if the UDC knows that there is a developing controversy over this matter, but they conceal it from the church they plan to meet at, how will the church feel when they find out that they were kept uninformed?

Has the Edenton United Methodist Church cancelled the North Carolina UDC memorial service at their church? I don't know. I got an unsolicited email from someone claiming to be a member of the church. Later he said that the church had cancelled, but the person wasn't using one of the church's email addresses. When I asked that there be confirmation by the church I didn't hear back. I emailed the same person at his official Edenton United Methodist Church email and I didn't hear back. So I sent a certified letter asking him to confirm the emails sent. So far haven't heard back but it is too soon to say whether I am going to hear back or not.

However, the North Carolina UDC convention website does mention that it is going to be  local church. If the UDC was actually rejected I think that neo-Confederate would be complaining all over the Internet.

If I don't hear back I am writing the staff of the church by certified mail. I will also be giving reasons why they shouldn't host the UDC.

At this time I can't say whether the North Carolina UDC convention will be happening at the Edenton Street United Methodist Church in 2015 or not, but I have I have a long time between now 2015 to find out.

So far I am not hearing much back from the churches except when they want to tell me they aren't involved, or won't be involved. Except in one case, I am not getting anyone defending the practice of hosting neo-Confederate groups. If the churches thought it was a good thing they would be defending it. They know it is a dirty secret also. (I will be blogging about the church leader who defended the practice.)

I will be blogging on the Edenton United Methodist Church matter as things develop.

I am already winning in this campaign. The campaign is documented at www.templeofdemocracy.com/churchesoftheconfederacy.htm.

Churches which host Children of the Confederacy national convention services added to Churches of the Confederacy web page

I have a table of churches which have hosted the Children of the Confederacy (CofC) which is an organization of the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC).

It has been added to the main page tracking the campaign regarding churches enabling neo-Confederate groups.

http://www.templeofdemocracy.com/churchesoftheconfederacy.htm

The reporting on the national conventions of the Children of the Confederacy is a little uneven and so for some years it isn't known whether they had a church service and if so where.

The three denominations stand out: Episcopal Church, Presbyterian USA, and the United Methodist Church.

This upcoming year the Children of the Confederacy will be using the First Presbyterian Church of Texarkana, Texas.

http://www.firstprestexarkana.org/

Table of churches hosting neo-Confederate events update with more United Daughters of the Confederacy hostings

At http://www.templeofdemocracy.com/ChurchesHostingEvents.htm I added in several churches which are active in hosting United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) meetings.

With web pages being modified or pulled off line I don't know if in the future if I will be able to track what is happening. On the other hand if the neo-Confederates do go into some stealth mode it is just something they are doing, but if a church works with them to cover up that a neo-Confederate group is meeting at their church it is collusion.

If you know of any churches hosting a neo-Confederate group contact me with documentation

If you know of any church that is hosting a neo-Confederate group please contact me by email.

I won't list them as having hosted a neo-Confederate group until I can confirm it with some type of documentation. It might be an announcement on a neo-Confederate web page or news article in the local paper or some other source of information that can corroborate that a neo-Confederate group is being hosted by a local church.

If you have such documentation please provide in your email the links to the page. I don't want to open any attachments. However, even if you don't have documentation contact me anyways. I have ways of searching the Internet and Internet archives to track down things.

I am interested in any type of hosting by the church. It can be a memorial service for a United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) or Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) convention, it might be a workshop or business meeting, or local monthly chapter or camp meetings, or some other even such as a Confederate Memorial Day service. In case of doubt send me an email and I can decide.

I am writing each church to double check whether they are actually hosting a neo-Confederate group.

The churches which I have already documented as hosting neo-Confederate groups are in an online table at:

www.templeofdemocracy.com/ChurchesHostingEvents.htm

Writing and researching. Children of the Confederacy

Spent much of the day finding out which churches hosting the Children of the Confederacy. Entered into EXCEL. Have some more work to do before it goes online. However, again the Episcopalians come out as a leading hosting denomination of neo-Confederates.

Wrote four more religious leaders, two in Dallas and two in Richmond. There are still some churches to write. By the end of March though I should be done writing churches. I am going to switch to writing religious social justice organizations, religious publications, civil rights groups, newspapers, etc.

I am not finding any churches or religious groups that want to defend the Confederacy or their association with neo-Confederate groups. It seems their strategy is to avoid discussing the matter and hope that it doesn't come before the public.

By end of next week I plan on having www.templeofdemocracy.com/churchesoftheconfederacy.htm updated with the new letters and information.

Planning Christmas Day picket in Dallas of neo-Confederate hosting denomination

I will be planning on a Christmas Day picket in Dallas, TX of a denomination which continues to enable neo-Confederacy.

In addition starting this Summer I will want to have pickets of churches enabling neo-Confederates in NYC, DC, and Richmond. See the following Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Anti-Neo-Confederate-Action/122398324590629

Dr. Hayes-Bautista Op-Ed about Cinco de Mayo's American origins as an anti-Confederate holiday in the "Los Angeles Times."

Dr. Hayes-Bautista has an Op-Ed about Cinco de Mayo's American origins as an anti-Confederate holiday in the March 4, 2014 Los Angeles Times. The Link is:

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/commentary/la-oe-hayes-bautista-cinco-de-mayo-20140305,0,4208043.story#axzz2v8VSmr5z

The great thing about this is that it will inform a great many people that Cinco de Mayo is a patriotic American holiday and an anti-Confederate holiday. The popularity of Cinco de Mayo will work to increase the unpopularity of the Confederacy.

I was in Los Angeles for an exhibition on Cinco de Mayo. The following is my blog on the visit with pictures.

http://newtknight.blogspot.com/2012/09/cinco-de-mayo-civil-war-exhibit-pictures.html#.Uxe81_ldWSo

Additionally there is a lecture by Dr. Hayes-Bautista on video in the blog posting. I have other blog postings on Cinco de Mayo, use "cinco" and search my blog.

I am hoping that as Cinco de Mayo becomes popularly known as an anti-Confederate holiday, the Roman Catholic churches will be less likely to host neo-Confederate groups.

"12 Years a Slave" movie wins "Best Picture" Oscar. UPDATED: Additional material has been added.

From the Los Angeles Times, "12 Years a Slave" movie wins "Best Picture" Oscar.

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/moviesnow/la-et-mn-oscars-2014-academy-awards,0,6353563.story#axzz2utpQbMQk

The Gone With The Wind view of slavery seems to be gone with the wind. All the years of the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) trying to portray slavery as somehow justifiable is undone.

Further the movie "12 Years a Slave" is going to be used in classrooms to teach students about slavery.

http://entertainment.time.com/2014/02/24/12-years-a-slave-will-be-taught-in-schools/

The following is a trailer for the movie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z02Ie8wKKRg

Double click to get full view.



You can get a PDF of the original book here.
https://ia600500.us.archive.org/5/items/12yearsaslave00nortrich/12yearsaslave00nortrich.pdf

This is a "New York Times" article about the book from 161 years ago.

http://gawker.com/this-is-the-161-year-old-new-york-times-article-about-1-1535199589

A good article worth reading about kidnapping of free African Americans in Antebellum New York City to be sold into slavery.

http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/untold-history-beneath-12-years-article-1.1706946

The response of the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) will likely to be either to wail and moan that it is an attack on the South, or shift through the movie and find some minor or minute technical error to make the claim that the whole movie is is historically inaccurate, or to make up some historical claim which they will represent as a historical error to claim that the whole movie is historically inaccurate.

Primarily though they will bring up a lot of historical claims which don't really relate to the movie but will serve as a distraction and misdirection away from the substance of the movie, but which they will claim some how discredits the movie.

A particular way they will attack the film without discussing the contents will be to focus on attacking Hollywood and the film as a product of Hollywood.

H.K. Edgerton will be showcased with the idea, that if any black person rejects the movie than the it is okay for the SCV members to reject it also for whatever reasons that might motivate them.

Of course there could be just a lot of ranting and raving too.

Maybe St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Richmond should get a copy and review it.

Perhaps I will suggest that the leadership of the United Methodist Church (UMC) consider viewing it before they continue to host the UDC and SCV. Maybe the UMC will give up the Confederacy. www.templeofdemocracy.com/churchesoftheconfederacy.htm.

More web pages disappear, Alabama Div. Sons of Confederate Veterans deletes major web page in response to Church writing campaign

I was looking for www.aladivscv.com/camps.htm on the Internet for Alabama Division Sons of Confederate Veterans camp meeting locations. I couldn't find it.

It is archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20130818164435/http://aladivscv.com/camps.htm. You will notice that there are tabs at the bottom for each section of Alabama.

You can see it is an extensive list of where Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) camps meeting in Alabama including many churches. When it was on the Internet I printed it out with URL and date stamps on each page for my records.

When I inquired on Facebook, Grand Bay First United Methodist Church had told me that the SCV hadn't met at their church for some time and I had told them it was listed that they did and gave them the URL.

I don't know if it is true or not that the SCV no longer meets there. I will have to make inquiries.

It will be a major change if the SCV meetings in churches are done in secret. If in the future that becomes the practice than any church hosting them is in collusion. If in the future that becomes the practice the SCV can't but feel that they are a potential embarrassment to a church at which they meet.

Decatur United Methodist Church and the Sons of Confederate Veterans, collusion?

The First United Methodist Church of Decatur had on their web page www.decaturmethodist.org a listing for the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) in their calendar.  Sometime between the Jan. 7, 2014 Google Cache snap shot and today 3/1/2014 the SCV regular meeting disappeared from their schedule.

As of today 3/1/2014 the listing is still in the Google cache. It won't be there for long.

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:97_kwvCmz1wJ:www.decaturmethodist.org/templates/System/details.asp%3Fid%3D58517%26PG%3DEvents%26CID%3D1347159%26rDate%3D2014-01-14+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

However, the calendar with the listing of the SCV is at www.archive.org.

https://web.archive.org/web/20131219084143/http://decaturmethodist.org/templates/System/details.asp?id=58517&PG=events&RecordType=&pkg=

You will have to wait a bit while it loads.

It seems that the First United Methodist Church of Decatur is covering up the fact that they let the SCV use the Wesley Center.

The First United Methodist Church of Decatur has been careless and hasn't entirely covered its tracks.
http://www.decaturmethodist.org/clientimages/58517/building%20use%20guidelines.pdf

https://web.archive.org/web/20140301200024/http://www.decaturmethodist.org/clientimages/58517/building%20use%20guidelines.pdf

The SCV is still listing the First United Methodist Church of Decatur as a meeting place.

http://www.asjcampscv983.org/history.htm

http://www.asjcampscv983.org/news.htm

I had contacted the First United Methodist Church of Decatur and had blogged on the issue also.

http://newtknight.blogspot.com/2014/01/first-united-methodist-church-of.html#.UxI4l_ldWSo

Evidently the response was to hide the enabling of the SCV. It might be asked whether the church did stop hosting the SCV. If they did, I think they would tell me and the local SCV camp would be listing a new meeting place.

The documentation of the campaign to get churches to not enable neo-Confederate groups is online at www.templeofdemocracy.com/churchesoftheconfederacy.htm.

Investment banker Warren Stephens, Wall Street, and the Confederacy

There is a recent article on investment banker Warren Stephens, Wall Street, and the Confederacy at the following link:

http://www.salon.com/2014/02/28/wall_streets_long_torrid_affair_with_the_south_partner/

This is an excerpt from the article.

Think of Dixie, and your mind probably conjures something like “Duck Dynasty” — bearded men bouncing along dirt roads in pickup trucks, raucously waving rebel flags.

You probably wouldn’t think of black-tied bankers cavorting in the plush ballroom of Manhattan’s St. Regis hotel. But were you to peek inside the recent gathering of a secret Wall Street society, you’d have witnessed investment banking tycoon Warren Stephens taking the stage in a Confederate flag hat, performing an ode to finance to the tune of “Dixie.” “In Wall Street land we’ll take our stand,” you would have heard him croon, as 200 of his well-heeled brethren nibbled foie gras.

This is the article from which Salon got their information about the recent gathering.

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/02/i-crashed-a-wall-street-secret-society.html


There has been for a long time sympathy for the Confederacy in New York City. I refer also to a blog posting I had on the New York Times newspaper. http://newtknight.blogspot.com/2013/11/when-new-york-times-was-pro-neo.html. By the title of the blog I don't want to suggest that the New York Times is no longer sympathetic.