My speech at the Saturday Rally

This isn't the actual text of my speech. I decided to further simplify it. However, it is what I talked about to a cheering audience. After the monuments there are other things to which we need to attend.

I think with the monuments being down, some of these things will happen without  anyone asking.

I do however, plan a mass mailing to churches where a church has hosted the United Daughters of the Confederacy or the Sons of Confederate Veterans. I do plan to write all the denominations which have lent their facilities to a national neo-Confederate convention. I think it will help that they know that someone is tracking this. The U.S. Military, the National Park Service, and the textbook publishers will be more of a challenge but I have some ideas.

I think after the monuments go down, they will be less willing to retain practices that enable neo-Confederacy and the Lost Cause.

As monuments start coming down, people will expect that their city follow suit. Chamber of Commerce groups will not want their city to have a Confederate monument. It will be a marker of backwardness and make their city an object of ridicule.

I am planning on making a video about what I saw at the Gettysburg National Park.

So with yesterdays speech I launched these topics.

I have been researching and leading a small resistance against the neo-Confederate movement for 25 years.

In 2015 after the Charleston massacre my co-author called and pointed out that not until peopled died did the state of South Carolina do the right thing and take down the Confederate flag.

After Heather Heyer was killed last Saturday the nation is flooded with calls to remove Confederate monuments, plaques, flags across the nation.

This leads me to ask.

How many will have to die before the National Park Service stops accommodating the Confederacy?

How many will have to die before the U.S. Military academies stop letting the United Daughters of the Confederacy give Confederate awards to cadets?

How many will have to die before the U.S. Military High School Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps program stop allowing the Sons of Confederate Veterans to give awards to cadets?

How many will have to die before American History textbooks, particularly in Texas, stop being Lost Causes, stop pandering to pro-Confederates?

How many church massacres will there have to be before American churches, mainstream churches, stop lending their facilities to the Sons of Confederate Veterans and the United Daughters of the Confederacy?

People shouldn’t have to die before we do the right thing.

In closing, I ask the United States military, I ask the textbook publishers, I ask the churches, I ask the National Park Service, I ask our city, our state, our nation, let us do the right thing, give up the Confederacy. 

I wonder if Robert E. Lee Episcopal Church is re-thinking keeping their name.

With current events I have been swamped with keeping track of what is happening. However, I want to share this from my 7/25/2017 trip to Lexington, Virginia where I visited the Robert E. Lee Episcopal Church next to the Washington & Lee University campus.

They have a Confederate Christ. The staffer there was annoyed by people being concerned about it.

Notice that the banner with Robert E. Lee is up on the church stage. I think it is time that the Episcopal Church deal with the Confederacy. I would emphasize that they are not as bad as the United Methodist Church. St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Richmond, Virginia has dealt with the Confederacy and were really great. However, they are hoping to reach an urban demographic, whereas Lexington, Virginia is very white.

My web page on mainstream denominations and the Confederacy.


http://www.templeofdemocracy.com/churches-of-the-confederacy.html

No churches in Richmond hosted the United Daughters of the Confederacy's Memorial Service in 2016

The 2016 Memorial Service for the 123rd National Convention of the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) in 2016 in Richmond, Virginia was held at the UDC Memorial Building.

No church was willing to host them and the Historic Richmond Foundation didn't rent the UDC the Monumental Church. It seems that writing every last officer of the Historic Richmond Foundation and every sponsor of the Historic Richmond Foundation got them to think a little, probably about their reputations rather than anything involving a moral reflection on what they did.

Also, having corresponded with the Roman Catholic Church, United Methodist Church, the Presbyterian Church USA, and Episcopalian Church about the issue and with follow up letters answering all their evasions, it seems that for a little while anyways they won't be hosting any Confederate events in Richmond, Virginia. I do want to point out that St. Paul's Episcopal Church was different than the others and extraordinary in their engagement with the moral issues.

As for the Presbyterian Church USA, I am planning to re-read the Gospels to see if Christ passed the bar exam. I have been meaning to, but I have so many things to do.

I have had other projects to do and there is so much work in tracking the neo-Confederate movement. However, I will start writing churches again about hosting. I hope to have more help this year on the issue.

www.templeofdemocracy.com has a section on the Churches of the Confederacy. It needs to be made current which I hope to do in February.

This is the draft press release which goes out this coming weekend to media, social justice groups, etc. I will be printing it out in the morning and editing

Which Church is Hosting the

Sons of Confederate Veterans in 2016?

The Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) is having their 2016 national convention in Richardson, TX on July 13-17, 2016 http://www.scv2016.org/. Unlike past practice, but as in 2014 the SCV is going into stealth mode and is not announcing at which church their memorial service will be.

A campaign is underway to convince churches in the Dallas, Texas area not to host or lend their facilities to the SCV. A reasonable person would see that it is a racist and extremist organization by any reasonable standard which is documented at http://www.blackcommentator.com/526/526_confederacy_sebesta_guest_share.html. The campaign to get churches not to host neo-Confederate groups is documented at http://www.templeofdemocracy.com/churches-of-the-confederacy.html and the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/events/412080045663443/.

However certain denominations have past records of hosting neo-Confederate groups.

SOUTHERN BAPTISTS: They hosted the 2014 SCV national convention. It is documented online here. http://www.timesexaminer.com/historical/1914-2014-national-reunion-of-sons-of-confederate-veterans. A letter was written to the president of the Southern Baptists and copied to all 60 plus board members. http://www.templeofdemocracy.com/southern-baptist-convention.html. There was no reply.  A letter was recently sent to the head of the Southern Baptists in Texas and all the board members and hopefully there will some response. Correspondence online at http://www.templeofdemocracy.com/richardson-texas-2016.html.

ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH: Historically they have frequently hosted SCV events.  (See enclosed Bar Graph.) In 2014 the former Bishop of Dallas was written but there was no reply. A letter was recently sent to Bishop Ferrell and hopefully there will be a reply. Correspondence online at http://www.templeofdemocracy.com/richardson-texas-2016.html.

EPISCOPAL CHURCH: Historically they have frequently hosted SCV events (See enclosed Bar Graph). In 2014 the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas was written and the reply was that he didn’t know of any church hosting the SCV, but he didn’t say that a church wouldn’t. Bill Murchison, contributor to Southern Partisan and former board member of the Texas League of the South is influential in the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas. A follow up letter has been sent to Bishop Summer and hopefully there will be a more definitive reply. Correspondence online at http://www.templeofdemocracy.com/richardson-texas-2016.html.

UNITED METHODIST CHURCH: They haven’t hosted too many SCV events, but many of their churches host SCV monthly meetings (See enclosed Excel sheet). The UMC has hosted national events for the United Daughters of the Confederacy repeatedly despite correspondence asking them not to. http://www.templeofdemocracy.com/united-methodist-church.html.

The North Texas Conference Bishop McKee was written to in 2014, recently a follow up letter has been sent and hopefully there will be a reply.  Correspondence online at http://www.templeofdemocracy.com/richardson-texas-2016.html. 

PRESBYTERIAN USA:  They are in the top four of hosting national neo-Confederate convention events. (See enclosed Bar Graph.) The 1^st Presbyterian Church in Texarkana, AR, lent their facilities to the Children of the Confederacy national convention in 2015. Presbyterian Voices for Justice has raise the issue (See http://www.pv4j.org/network-news/new-network-news-june-2015.pdf) but it remains to be seen if the Presbyterian USA church will give up the Confederacy. Correspondence in 2014 went unanswered. Hopefully they will respond to a recent letter sent in 2016.   Correspondence online at http://www.templeofdemocracy.com/richardson-texas-2016.html.

OTHER DENOMINATIONS: From the Bar Graphs you can see that other denominations have also hosted neo-Confederate events. Additionally certain Christian Reconstructionist groups and reactionary Presbyterian denominations have had an affinity for the Confederacy.

The article, "The US Civil War as A Theological War: Confederate Christian Nationalism and the League of the South," in the Canadian Review of American Studies, Vol. 32 No. 3, pp. 253-284, describes these conservative denominations. (Available online at: http://www.templeofdemocracy.com/ConfederateChristianNationalism.pdf).

As some denominations stop hosting neo-Confederate groups others may step in to take their place. Remember it might be your church, ask and find out.

CORRESPONDANCE DOCUMENTED ONLINE:

As other religious leaders, denominations, churches and anti-racist groups are written to the correspondence will be online at: http://www.templeofdemocracy.com/richardson-texas-2016.html. Additionally documentation can be sent via Cloud Services to those interested.

CONTACT:

Ed Sebesta can be contacted by email at edwardsebesta@gmail.com. His curriculum vitae is enclosed. He was recently awarded the Spirit of Freedom medal by the African American Civil War Museum and is published by university presses, peer-reviewed academic journals, and Black Commentator. http://www.templeofdemocracy.com/curriculum-vitae.html. 

Presbyterian Voices for Justice take up the issue of Presbyterian churches hosting neo-Confederate groups

It is in their newsletter.

http://www.pv4j.org/network-news/new-network-news-june-2015.pdf

The issue of churches that host neo-Confederate groups is on page 26.

The word is beginning to get out and in this new climate I think that there will be some concern.

Churches that host the Sons of Confederate Veteran meetings table updated.

I have updated the table of the churches that host Sons of Confederate Veteran (SCV) meetings and have put it in this web page.

www.templeofdemocracy.com/churchesoftheconfederacy.htm

If there is a church that hosts a SCV meeting and it isn't on the list email me with the URL that documents it.

The other web page with just the table has been taken down.

UPDATE:

I have decided that since this table is likely to be updated frequently I have put the table back at this URL.

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

Book a "White" wedding now at Martha's Chapel

Martha's Chapel in Apex, North Carolina is listed as a monthly meeting site by the North Carolina Sons of Confederate Veterans for the Cedar Fork Rifles Camp No. 1827. www..ncscv.org.

The church is really into booking weddings. Note on their web page the letters "Now Booking Weddings" is flashing on and off.

http://marthaschapel.com/home.html

With this observation I offer to the amusement of my readers the following video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAZQaYKZMTI