Tag Archives: Confederacy

Florida Politics reports: A bill that would protect historical memorials, including controversial monuments to the Confederacy erected after the Civil War by White citizens’ groups, moved through a committee in the Senate, powered by a Republican supermajority on the Senate Committee on Governmental Oversight and Accountability. Sen. Jonathan Martin’s bill (SB 1122) would impose penalties on local officials who removed …

“I’m opposed to taking down statues. The idea that we’re going to just erase history is wrong. You’ve seen it now where they tried to take down Thomas Jefferson, they tried to take down George Washington off schools. It just gets so out of hand. So I don’t support taking down statues, particularly if you don’t have legal authority to …

Jacksonville’s NBC affiliate reports: Before first light on Wednesday, construction crews began the process of removing a Confederate statue in Springfield Park that has long been the subject of debate in Jacksonville. By 11 a.m., the monument had been taken down. Following a similar process undertaken in 2020 to remove a Confederate statue from what was then known as Hemming …

The Associated Press reports: At a hearing in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, U.S. District Judge Rossie Alston said he issued the temporary injunction Monday after receiving an urgent phone call from the memorial’s supporters saying that gravesites adjacent to the memorial were being desecrated as contractors began work to remove the memorial. He said he toured the site before …

The Associated Press reports: A federal judge on Monday issued a temporary restraining order barring removal of a memorial to Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. A group called Defend Arlington, affiliated with a group called Save Southern Heritage Florida, filed a lawsuit Sunday in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, seeking the restraining order. A hearing has been scheduled for …

The Washington Post reports: The U.S. Army intends to remove a Confederate memorial from Arlington National Cemetery next week as part of its ongoing work to rid Defense Department property of divisive rebel imagery, defying dozens of congressional Republicans who have vociferously protested the move. A woman representing the American South, standing atop a 32-foot pedestal, lords above most other …

Florida Politics reports: During remarks in Eagle Pass, Texas, the Florida Governor doubled down on his assertion that the newly rechristened Fort Liberty should have its name changed back to honor Braxton Bragg, whose legacy as a rebel commander was undistinguished even by the markers of the rebel army. “Here’s what I said with respect to Fort Bragg is, that’s …

Congress Minutes reports: Republicans are gearing up for another debate over Confederate-named Defense Department assets after GOP appropriators added a little-noticed amendment into a funding bill. The GOP friction stems from a push by Rep Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) who publicly revived the discussion by trying to prevent funding in an energy and water development bill from being used to rename …

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports: The state GOP convention in Columbus this weekend was both a grassroots business meeting and the start of the 2024 U.S. presidential contest in Georgia. It was also a reminder of the party’s fissures, since Gov. Brian Kemp and other statewide Republicans skipped the scene entirely. The group elected a new chairman in Josh McKoon. But …

The Raleigh News & Observer reports: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, speaking at the NCGOP convention Friday night, said if he’s elected president he would reverse the recent decision to change the name of Fort Bragg to Fort Liberty. The promise by DeSantis to restore the name of the major military installation just north of Fayetteville, which earned loud cheers and …

ABC News reports: A new sign on base Friday morning signified a new era for the military institution in Cumberland County formerly known as Fort Bragg. Fort Bragg shed its Confederate namesake to become Fort Liberty on Friday, June 2, 2023. It’s a change that some veterans view as a small but important step in making the U.S. Army more …

The Daily Beast reports: A Florida middle-school teacher who had his class watch a self-made, pro-Confederacy video for Confederate History Month has filed a complaint against his school district for launching an investigation into his questionable teaching practices. Collier County Public Schools looked into a video that Manatee Middle School social studies teacher Jonathan Papanikolaou had his students watch during …

Fort Myers’ NBC affiliate reports: A teacher at a Collier County school is facing backlash from parents after they showed a video celebrating “Confederate History Month” to the entire school. The video aired as part of the morning announcements on Tuesday at Manatee Middle School, according to a district spokesperson. The school district wouldn’t identify the teacher but said they …

Florida Politics reports: A House committee approved a bill that could end efforts to move or “re-contextualize” confederate monuments and other markers of war. The “Historical Monuments and Memorials Protection Act” (HB 1607) cleared its first hurdle in front of the Constitutional Rights, Rule of Law & Government Operations Subcommittee, on a 10-2 vote. Rep. Dean Black, a Jacksonville Republican …

Axios reports: Alabama and Mississippi celebrate MLK and Robert E. Lee, the losing Confederate general and slaveholder, on the same day. Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas all have at least one day commemorating the Confederacy on other days of the year, the Axios analysis found. Mississippi and Alabama each celebrate a total of three …

Via press release from West Point: Long Gray Line Teammates and the West Point Community: During the holiday break, we will begin a multi-phased process, in accordance with Department of Defense (DoD) directives, to remove, rename or modify assets and real property at the United States Military Academy (USMA) and West Point installation that commemorate or memorialize the Confederacy or …

The Daily Beast reports: An attempt to make a right-wing superhero movie has ended in disaster, with $1 million missing in China and a participant facing a federal indictment. “I wouldn’t count on us getting the money back,” Theodore Beale, a far-right blogger known as “Vox Day,” admitted to his fans and investors in a video last week. This isn’t …

NBC News reports: A Virginia board is considering restoring the names of two schools that were originally named for Confederate generals but were changed in 2020 after the murder of George Floyd. The Shenandoah County School Board voted in 2020 to change Stonewall Jackson High School to Mountain View High School and Ashby-Lee Elementary School to Honey Run Elementary School. …

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports: About 200 members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans gathered at Stone Mountain on Saturday for an observation of Confederate Memorial Day, despite calls for the state-owned park to shut them down. Instead, a little more than 100 counter protesters descended down the wide lawn in front of the mountain’s gigantic bas relief carving of Confederate …

First Coast News reports: A new park honoring the over 15,000 soldiers involved in the Confederate war effort is now open in North Florida. Kirby-Smith Confederate Park is located in Lincoln Villas in the Northeast Jacksonville area. The park is visible from the I-295 west beltway, and features Confederate flags, statuary and placards. The park’s website claims that the Confederate …