Confederate general's remains moved to Virginia hometown
The remains of a Confederate general unearthed from beneath a monument at the center of a Virginia intersection have been reinterred at a cemetery in his hometown. Last month, Richmond, which served as the Confederacy’s capital for most of the Civil War, removed the statue of Confederate Gen. A.P. Hill and the general's remains buried beneath after a court battle. On Saturday, hundreds of people, including Confederate reenactors, gathered to pay their respects to the general at a ceremony in Fairview Cemetery in Culpeper, Hill’s hometown, The Free Lance-Star reported.
news.yahoo.comMan who stormed Capitol with dad gets 2 years in prison
A Delaware man who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, with his Confederate flag-toting father was sentenced on Monday to two years behind bars. Hunter Seefried, 24, was convicted alongside his father of felony and misdemeanor charges by U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden in June. Hunter and Kevin Seefried opted for a bench trial, which is decided by a judge, rather than have their case be heard by a jury.
news.yahoo.com7 more Republican leaders endorse Democrat Josh Shapiro for Pennsylvania governor, following news of GOP candidate Doug Mastriano wearing a Confederate military uniform
Republican party members are backing Democrat PA Attorney General Josh Shapiro over state Sen. Doug Mastriano in the Pennsylvania gubernatorial race.
news.yahoo.comA Santa Barbara history
The city on California's southern coast would evolve dramatically over the course of four centuries, from the home of Chumash people to a Spanish settlement and mission, to an oceanfront jewel whose architecture and lifestyle have become the epitome of the California Dream. Jane Pauley takes a walk through the history of the "American Riviera." (Originally broadcast May 22, 2022.)
news.yahoo.comConfederate statue is bulldozed as mayor livestreams it, video shows. ‘Not in my town’
“There will be no more Mondays where we will wake up and a statue or monument to the Confederate stands in the middle of our town. It is down. It is broken. It is it is done for. It is no longer a part of Enfield.”
news.yahoo.comSouth Dakota Town’s Civil War Festival Is a Big WTF
Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/GettyCANTON, South Dakota—South Dakota wasn’t a state during the Civil War. Founded in 1889, it didn’t send troops into battle.But an event this summer in Canton, a small town southeast of Sioux Falls, will feature a pair of skirmishes between the Blue and the Gray. A logo for Canton Civil War Days, set for Aug. 12-14, shows both the American flag and a Confederate banner.Selwyn Jones of Gettysburg—who is the uncle of George Floyd, the Black
news.yahoo.comGeorgia city official resigns after Confederate shop reopens
A city councilman in Georgia has resigned to protest the reopening of a Confederate souvenir shop that sells images with racial slurs and dolls and statues that caricature Black people, news outlets reported. Kennesaw Councilman James “Doc” Eaton said he wanted no part of the city's decision to issue a business license to the downtown store. “It breaks my heart to have to do it,” Eaton told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
news.yahoo.comGeorgia students sue over blocked protest against rebel flag
Several Black students who were suspended for trying to protest Confederate flag displays at their school in Georgia have filed a federal lawsuit against their school district and its board members, accusing them of allowing an extensive pattern of racism including “overt bigotry and animosity by some white students and teachers against African American students.” The students, joined by their mothers as plaintiffs, already made news when their protest at Coosa High School was stifled last fall. Now, in their lawsuit filed Tuesday against the Floyd County school district and its board members, they allege an extensive pattern of racism, including white students reenacting the murder of George Floyd and posting it on social media, and a student who carried what appeared to be a whip and told a Black student “we used to whip you."
news.yahoo.comTrump cancels event planned for anniversary of Jan. 6 Capitol riot
Tear gas is released into a crowd of protesters, with one wielding a Confederate battle flag that reads "Come and Take It," during clashes with Capitol police at a rally to contest the certification of the 2020 U.S. presidential election results by the U.S. Congress, at the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, U.S, January 6, 2021. Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday canceled an event billed as a press conference that was set to be held on the first anniversary of the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Trump had reportedly planned to defend the rioters during that event, which was going to be held at his golf club Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida. This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.
cnbc.comHigh court: Charlottesville can remove Confederate statues
On Thursday, April 1, 2021, Virginia's highest court ruled that the city of Charlottesville can take down this and another statue of a Confederate general. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)RICHMOND, Va. – Virginia's highest court ruled Thursday that the city of Charlottesville can take down two statues of Confederate generals, including one of Robert E. Lee that became the focus of a violent white nationalist rally in 2017. AdThe Jackson statue was erected in Jackson Park in 1921 and the Lee statue was erected in Lee Park in 1924. The state Supreme Court also ruled that the circuit court erred in ordering the city to pay $365,000 in plaintiffs’ attorneys’ fees and costs. University of Virginia law Richard Schragger, who specializes in the intersection of constitutional law and local government law, said he took the position early in the litigation that the law didn’t apply to the Charlottesville statues.
Arizona GOP wants felony for protesters who damage statues
Republicans in the Arizona Legislature are reacting to last year's wave of damage to Confederate monuments by civil rights protesters here and across the nation by working to make it a felony to damage or destroy any public or private monument or statue. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)PHOENIX – Republicans in the Arizona Legislature are reacting to last year's wave of damage to Confederate monuments by civil rights protesters here and across the nation by working to make it a felony to damage or destroy any public or private monument or statue. Rep. John Kavanagh supported his proposal at a Senate committee hearing Thursday by saying public monuments are a statement by the community that demand more protection. The proposal adds defacing a monument or statue to existing law that makes it a aggravated felony offense to deface a cemetery headstone or church. Scores of Confederate statues, monuments or markers were removed from public land across the country after Floyd’s death.
What is Confederate Heroes Day and why do Texans still celebrate it today?
On Jan. 19 annually, state workers in Texas get the day after Martin Luther King Jr. Day off, with pay, to celebrate “Confederate Heroes Day.” The state requires agencies to keep “skeleton crews” so that they are operational on the holiday, unlike some others, including MLK Day, when state officers are closed. The state holiday was created less than a decade after the federal signing of the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act. Some Southern states this year removed Confederate symbols, statues and monikers that they had long resisted calls to disband. So, removing Confederate Heroes Day is not erasing history. According to the Texas Tribune, other states that observe “Confederate Heroes Day” as a holiday are: Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Louisiana, Tennessee and Virginia.
Years of white supremacy threats culminated in Capitol riots
Both within and outside the walls of the Capitol, banners and symbols of white supremacy and anti-government extremism were displayed as an insurrectionist mob swarmed the U.S. Capitol. “These displays of white supremacy are not new,” said Lecia Brooks, chief of staff of the Southern Poverty Law Center. While not all the anti-government groups were explicitly white supremacist, Tuchman said many support white supremacist beliefs. “This is their new ‘Lost Cause' and a continuation of the original ‘Lost Cause,'” she said. Brooks said she worries the rampage at the Capitol and proliferation of white supremacist symbols will encourage similar actions at state capitals.
Mississippi governor signs law for flag without rebel emblem
Members of the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol Honor Guard prepare to raise the new Mississippi State flag at the Capitol in Jackson, Monday, Jan. 11, 2021. Tate Reeves signed a law that created the new state flag with magnolia at the center, six months after the state retired the last state flag in the U.S. that included the Confederate battle emblem. The law retiring the old flag also specified that the commission's proposed new flag would go on the Nov. 3 ballot for a yes-or-no vote. The Ku Klux Klan and other hate groups have waved the Confederate battle flag for decades. A few dozen people demonstrated on the south steps of the Mississippi Capitol in support of reviving the old flag.
Small-town Alabama resident transformed to protest leader
Transformed by leaving the virtually all-white town where she grew up, Dunston has been leading the demonstrations since August. “Everybody’s getting tired,” Marshall County Commission Chairman James Hutcheson said in an interview. Organizing through social media and word of mouth, Dunston decided to take on the Confederate monument. Travis Jackson, a Black Lives Matter activist who lives near Montgomery, said coming to protest in little Albertville is motivating. Counterprotesters are common, including an area Black man who supports the Confederate monument and rebel flag.
House votes to override Trump’s veto of defense bill
(AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)WASHINGTON – The Democratic-controlled House voted overwhelmingly Monday to override President Donald Trump’s veto of a defense policy bill, setting the stage for what would be the first veto override of his presidency. House members voted 322-87 to override the veto, well above the two-thirds needed to override. The veto override was supported by 212 Democrats, 109 Republicans and an independent. Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Trump’s declaration that China gained from the defense bill was false. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, in a rare break with Trump, had urged passage of the defense bill despite Trump’s veto threat.
Pentagon memo maps out plan to expand diversity in the force
The Pentagon has endorsed a new slate of initiatives to expand diversity within the ranks and reduce prejudice, including in recruiting, retention and professional development across the force. After extensive wrangling and debate, Esper this summer issued a directive that banned the display of the Confederate flag, without mentioning the word “ban” or that specific flag. Confederate flags, monuments and military base names became a national flashpoint in the weeks after Floyd's death. Ten major Army installations are named for Confederate Army officers, mostly senior generals, including Robert E. Lee. Among the 10 is Fort Benning, the namesake of Confederate Army Gen. Henry L. Benning, who was a leader of Georgia’s secessionist movement and an advocate of preserving slavery.
Defense bill in danger over Confederate-named military bases
Republicans are vowing they will not send the broader bill to Trump if it includes language requiring bases named after Confederate officers to be renamed. “It's Senate language that we want to agree to," said House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith, D-Wash. “So there shouldn't be controversy here." “Look, the defense bill is really important," Smith said, expressing hope that Republicans would relent. Both the House and Senate defense measures passed by veto-proof margins but GOP leaders want to avoid the chances of a veto coming to pass. The Associated Press erroneously reported that failure to pass the legislation could hold up a pay raise for the military.
Mississippi approves flag with magnolia, ‘In God We Trust’
The magnolia flower centered banner chosen Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2020 by the Mississippi State Flag Commission flies outside the Old State Capitol Museum in downtown Jackson, Miss. – Mississippi will fly a new state flag with a magnolia and the phrase “In God We Trust,” with voters approving the design Tuesday. It replaces a Confederate-themed flag state lawmakers retired months ago as part of the national reckoning over racial injustice. The final push for changing the Mississippi flag came from business, education, religious and sports groups — including, notably, the Mississippi Baptist Convention and the Southeastern Conference. Separately, supporters of the old Mississippi flag are starting an initiative that could revive the old flag by putting the Confederate-themed banner and some other designs up for a statewide vote.
KSAT Kids: Today in History, Oct. 23
Today is Friday, Oct. 23, the 297th day of 2020. In 1915, tens of thousands of women paraded up Fifth Avenue in New York City, demanding the right to vote. Rock musician Robert Trujillo (Metallica) is 56. Rock musician Eric Bass (Shinedown) is 46. Rock singer Matthew Shultz (Cage the Elephant) is 37.
Racial justice movement a factor for 5 state ballot measures
FILE - In this Tuesday, June 30, 2020 file photo, Mississippi Department of Finance and Administration employees Willie Townsend, left, and Joe Brown, attach a Mississippi state flag to the harness before raising it over the Capitol grounds in Jackson, Miss. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)The Black Lives Matter movement isn’t named in any of the 120 statewide ballot measures up for a vote on Nov. 3. But this year's nationwide protests over police brutality and racial injustice are major factors in the campaigns in several states for measures with distinctive racial themes. In Mississippi and Rhode Island, Black supporters of the ballot measures hope this year’s nationwide spotlight on racial injustice will bring a different outcome than when similar proposals were on the ballot previously. In Utah, the slavery measure’s lead sponsor was Rep. Sandra Hollins, the only Black person now serving in the Legislature.
Poll: Virginians about evenly divided on Confederate statues
In a state where Confederate monuments have stood for more than a century and have recently become a flashpoint in the national debate over racial injustice, Virginians remain about evenly divided on whether the statues should stay or go, according to a new poll. The poll conducted this month by Hampton University and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that 46% support removal of Confederate statues and 42% oppose removal. The poll conducted this month by Hampton University and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that 46% support removal of Confederate statues and 42% oppose removal. The 2017 white nationalist rally in Charlottesville that left a counterprotester dead had its origins in a city debate over whether to remove Confederate statues. On another topic, the poll found only about 1 in 4 Virginians support keeping schools in the state completely closed to in-person learning.
Police chief on leave after confederate statue charges
PORTSMOUTH, Va. – The police chief in Portsmouth, Virginia, is on paid leave nearly three weeks after her department charged a state senator and several others from the city's Black community with conspiring to a damage a Confederate monument. City spokeswoman Dana Woodson confirmed in an email on Friday that Chief Angela Greene is on leave and that an assistant police chief will assume her duties in the meantime. Allies of State Sen. Louise Lucas in Richmond have called the felony charges against her legally weak and political. The case is based on words that police say Lucas spoke in the hours before protesters ripped heads off Confederate statues and pulled one down, critically injuring a demonstrator. Greene became Portsmouth's police chief in 2019 after chief Tonya Chapman resigned.
Congressman seeks to end park's designation as Lee memorial
But Democratic Rep. Don Beyer, whose district is home to Arlington House, said it's time that Lee's name be stripped. Beyer's plans for legislation comes as descendants of a family enslaved at Arlington House have been lobbying for a name change. Surrounding the mansion is Arlington National Cemetery, which draws nearly 4 million visitors a year. Craig Syphax of Arlington is one of the descendants of Arlington House slaves who requested Beyer take action. He said learning his family history in his adult years helped give him a new outlook on life.
No immediate ruling on motion to dismiss Lee statue lawsuit
RICHMOND, Va. A judge heard arguments Tuesday but did not immediately rule on whether to dismiss a lawsuit challenging Virginia Gov. Ralph Northams plans to remove an enormous statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee along Richmonds famed Monument Avenue. An injunction currently prevents Northams administration from moving forward with plans to take down the bronze equestrian statue of Lee. Now cloaked in graffiti, the Lee statue and other nearby monuments have become a rallying point during ongoing social justice protests and occasional clashes with police. Critics of the statues say they distastefully glorify people who fought to preserve slavery in the South.
Museum says displaying Confederate statue part of healing
John Guess Jr., CEO Emeritus of the Houston Museum of African American Culture, talks about the bronze statue "The Spirit of The Confederacy" on display at the museum, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020, in Houston. The statue, which has been in storage following its removal, arrived at the Houston Museum of African American Culture on Monday. Guess said he believes the museum is the first African American institution in the country to house a Confederate monument. Museum officials say people will be able to see the statue up close from the courtyard at a later date. The statue sits facing a collection of eye sculptures by Bert Long Jr., a Black Houston artist.
Creator of mosquito-themed state flag says design was a joke
Magnolias, stars, a Gulf Coast lighthouse, a teddy bear, and even Kermit the Frog appear on some of the over 1,800 proposals submitted by the general public for a new Mississippi flag and posted Monday, Aug. 3, 2020, on the Mississippi Department of Archives and History web site. The state recently retired the last state banner with the Confederate battle emblem that's widely condemned as racist and a nine-member commission will design a replacement that cannot include the Confederate symbol and must have the phrase, "In God We Trust." (Mississippi Department of Archives and History, via AP)
Mississippi flag design process: Elvis has left the building
The group has the duty to design a new Mississippi flag without the Confederate battle emblem and the banner must include the phrase, "In God We Trust." The new Mississippi state flag will not include beer cans, crawfish, a caramel cake, Elvis or Kermit the Frog. All eight of Mississippis public universities and a growing number of cities and counties stopped flying the state flag in recent years. Within weeks, leaders from business, religion and education were lobbying Mississippi legislators to ditch the flag and replace it with a more inclusive design. The NCAA said that because of the Confederate symbol on the flag, Mississippi could not host events determined by teams performances, which would affect sports such as baseball, womens basketball and softball.
Trump, GOP ally vow Confederate base names won't change
Forty-nine GOP senators voted for the defense bill that includes the base-renaming, while just four Republicans voted against it. The aide steered a reporter to a statement McConnell made on the Senate floor praising the defense bill and its strong bipartisan support. There are 10 Army posts named for Confederate military leaders, including Fort Hood in Texas, Fort Benning in Georgia, Fort Bragg in North Carolina and Forts Robert E. Lee and A.P. The House bill would require the base names to be changed within a year, while the Senate would give the military three years to rename them. The Senates top Democrat, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, has dared Trump to veto the defense bill over Confederate base names.
Lee descendant urges official removal of Confederate statues
(AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)Democratic lawmakers and others urged official removal of Confederate monuments at the center of a politically fraught national debate, saying Tuesday that slow action was leading protesters to try to topple statues of defenders of slavery themselves. A descendant of Confederate military commander Robert E. Lee was among those joining Black historians at a hearing of the House subcommittee on national parks, forests and public lands to urge passage of legislation addressing Confederate statues at national parks and other federal sites. One of the bills would remove a statue of Lee erected this century at the battlefield of Antietam, the site of the deadliest day of fighting in the Civil War. Robert W. Lee IV, a descendant of the Souths military leader in the Civil War, cited his forebears testimony before Congress after the Civil War as evidence of the Confederate leader's unfitness for commemorative monuments. Trump increasingly has come out in defense of the Confederate statues and other historical tributes to the Civil Wars defeated side.
WH threatens defense bill veto over Confederate base names
WASHINGTON The White House is threatening to veto a massive defense policy bill over a provision that would rename military bases such as Fort Bragg that are named after Confederate officers. The House approved the bill, 295-125, sending it to the Senate, where lawmakers are considering a similar measure. If the bill were presented to President Donald Trump in its current form, his senior advisors would recommend that he veto it, the White House said. The Senate's top Democrat, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, dared Trump to veto the defense bill over Confederate base naming. It also requires designation of an assistant secretary of defense for industrial base policy, charged with supervising Pentagon policies to develop and maintain the nation's defense industrial base.
Pentagon bans Confederate flag in way to avoid Trump's wrath
(AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)WASHINGTON After weeks of wrangling, the Pentagon on Friday will ban displays of the Confederate flag on military installations, in a carefully worded policy that doesn't mention the word ban or that specific flag. Confederate flags, monuments and military base names have become a national flashpoint in the weeks since the death of George Floyd. Trump has flatly rejected any notion of changing base names, and has defended the flying of the Confederate flag, saying its a freedom of speech issue. The Marine Corps has already banned the Confederate flag. Gen. David Berger, the commandant of the Marine Corps, directed his commanders in early June to remove public displays of the Confederate battle flag.
Officials: Pentagon eyes new way to bar Confederate flag
Defense Secretary Mark Esper discussed the new plan with senior leaders this week, triggering some bewilderment over the lack of an appetite for a straight-forward ban on divisive symbols. The Marine Corp has already banned the Confederate flag saying it can inflame division and weaken unit cohesion. The Confederate flag is not among them - thus barring its display without singling it out in a ban.Acceptable flags would include the U.S. and state banners and the widely displayed POW/MIA flag. Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy told reporters on Thursday that he is still working on a policy that would remove all divisive symbols from Army installations. Trump has flatly rejected any notion of changing base names, and has defended the flying of the Confederate flag, saying its a freedom of speech issue.