Confederate monuments affirm racism

The Confederate monument on the grounds of the Georgetown Historical Society is a nine-foot obelisk inscribed with the Confederate flag and the names of Delawareans who fought with the southern army. Twenty-five-foot flagpoles flank it. One pole flies the Delaware flag and the other the Confederate flag with its 13 stars representing the 11 southern states that seceded from the United States, and border slave states Kentucky and Missouri. The obelisk is also inscribed with a 14th star to represent Delaware - a slave state that did not secede.

At the dedication May 12, 2007, dirt from each of the Confederate states was spread at the base of the monument to "give it a firm foundation in Southern soil." Noted Southern Patriot H.K. Edgerton led the crowd in singing "Dixie" and performed his rendition of "I am their Flag." More about the dedication can be found in a May 15, 2007 article in the Southern Heritage News and Views. http://shnv.blogspot.com/2007/05/monument-to-delaware-confederates.html.

In the past 10 years the Delaware General Assembly has granted a total of $150,532 to the Georgetown Historical Society. I urge our state legislators to publicly state that, in the future, no funds should be granted to this organization if it chooses to allow the Confederate monument and the Confederate flag on its property.

We all know the counter points:

There are more important things the GA should be dealing with.
It's part of our heritage and history. It's how we learn history.
GA funds other groups whose work some taxpayers find objectionable.
The Georgetown Historical Society uses state funding for other purposes.
And there are counter points to the counter points.

For me, it comes down to one question:

Is it appropriate for the General Assembly to award tax dollars to a private organization that validates racism by permitting, on its property, a monument glorifying the Delawareans who chose to fight for the South?

I think it is long overdue for white America to stop romanticizing the Johnny Reb narrative and the heritage of Old Dixie. It was racism in 1860 and it is racism in 2017.

As Bryan Stevenson, Delaware native and executive director of Equal Justice Initiative, said: What we do in the [Confederate] memorial spaces says a lot about who we are.... We are celebrating the architects and defenders of slavery. I don't think we understand what that means for our commitment to equality and fairness and justice.... You can't create a healthy society when you celebrate and romanticize human rights violations, when you are indifferent to the trauma created by decades of human trafficking and enslavement.

These totems are made of concrete and steel and bronze, but they have been screaming at African-Americans for decades. They have been there for decades screaming this history of white supremacy, of the resistance to the end of emancipation, of resistance to integration - of a history worth honoring.

And I think that has to change if we're going to be a country that makes progress in dealing with racial inequality. That nine-foot obelisk in Georgetown and the Confederate flag flying beside it are honoring racism.

Our legislators must let all Delawareans know they will no longer support funding any organization, including the Georgetown Historical Society, that affirms racism.

Joanne Cabry
chair, Progressive Democrats of Sussex County