[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 4] [Extensions of Remarks] [Pages 5661-5662] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]EXPOSING RACISM ______ HON. BENNIE G. THOMPSON of mississippi in the house of representatives Wednesday, March 24, 1999 Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, in my continuing efforts to document and expose racism in America, I submit the following articles into the Congressional Record. [From the Virginian-Pilot] Confederate Group Battles for Its Flag (By Linda McNatt) In May 1997, two members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans confronted Ku Klux Klansmen in front of the Pensacola, Fla., judicial building. Sworn to conduct themselves as Southern gentlemen, the SCV members asked the hooded Klansmen to put down what they believe is their Confederate battle flag. ``There were 20 of them, maybe,'' said Robert A. Young, who belongs to the Sons of Confederate Veterans. ``This group of fellas came over from Louisiana. They were dressed up like ghosts. We didn't want the connection, and we told 'em so.'' The peaceful confrontation made national news. The Klansmen didn't back down, but the SCV had made its point. It wasn't the first time that the Sons of Confederate Veterans have defended the bright red flag with its blue cross and white stars. And it's not likely to be the last. The flag, the SCV says, symbolizes the bravery of their ancestors who followed it through the smoke of battle. But the same flag has been used by the Klan and other hate groups. For some African Americans, the Confederate flag represents terrorism, prejudice and hate. That's why the Virginia General Assembly two weeks ago said ``no flag'' when it voted to allow the group, which has 6,000 Virginia members, to have a special state license plate. The Sons of Confederate Veterans aren't happy. Members have said they might try to re-introduce the flag image. Bills have been changed before, they say, although they won't say how they plan to do it. Or--if the Senate fails to consider anything but the blank plate with the name of the organization on it--the SCV may take the issue to court. They're ready for a gentlemanly battle, they say. The Sons of Confederate Veterans was organized in 1896 as an offshoot of the United Confederate Veterans. Today, the mission of the group is to ``preserve the history and the legacy'' of the ``citizen soldiers'' who fought for the Confederacy in the War Between the States, from 1861 to 1865. Proof of kinship to a Confederate soldier is required. The SCV allows blacks to join; in fact, they say, race has never been a question on their membership application. And they do claim black members, although no one at the national headquarters--an antebellum mansion in Columbia, Tenn.--can say how many of their 27,000 members worldwide are black. Neither can Patrick J. Griffin III, SCV national commander and chief, of Darnestown, Md. ``We do not have a block on our application that asks for race,'' Griffin said. ``I've never seen anything in this organization that questions race or religion. You either have an honorable Confederate ancestor or you don't.'' The SCV, with 700 camps in 36 states, Europe and South America, accepts members as young as 12. ``We're trying to preserve an accurate view of Southern American history, to make sure the names of our ancestors are not sullied,'' Griffin said. The group dedicates itself to preservation, to marking confederate soldiers' graves, to [[Page 5662]] historical re-enactments. It holds regular meetings to discuss the military and political history of the Civil War. It publishes a bimonthly magazine, and it hands out two scholarships and a medical research grant each year. Executive director Maitland Westbrook III said that the SCV is not ``statistically oriented,'' so he can't say how many African Americans have benefited from SCV scholarships. The organization has five full-time employees at national headquarters. None of them, currently, are black, Westbrook said, although the SCV has employed blacks in the past. The SCV also spends a lot of time defending its heritage-- including its symbol--the Confederate battle flag. Collin Pulley Jr. of Courtland is national chief of heritage defense. In the last several months, he's complained about ``anti-Southern'' TV shows and objected to a rap CD that depicts a burning Confederate flag on its cover. ____ Since Wal-Mart quit carrying the flags after some customers complained, he's led a SCV campaign--unsuccessful so far--to persuade the discount chain to re-stock small Confederate flags his group uses on graves. ``It has been our position for the last two years not to carry the Confederate flag because, here at Wal-Mart, we do not stand for what that flag represents,'' said Marvin Deshommes, a buyer at the Bentonville, Ark., headquarters. What the flag represents, the SVC says, is heritage, not hate. And the group is determined to reclaim its glory. It succeeded in Maryland and, more recently, in North Carolina. Both states, and several others, allow SCV members to display the flag on license plates. A federal judge ruled in Maryland in February 1997 that ``The Confederate battle flag on special Maryland license plates is protected by the First Amendment and cannot be banned.'' The SCV got a similar ruling in North Carolina last December. There, the protest was less about the flag and more about whether the organization was actually a ``civic group.'' The SCV took it to court and won. In Virginia, said Brag Bowling of Richmond, legislative liaison for the SCV, ``We're exploring all options. We're deeply disappointed they took the flag off the license plate. We got nailed in the House. We want to see how it goes in the Senate.'' It was likely the impassioned plea of Del. Jerrauld C. Jones, D-Norfolk, that swayed the House. Jones said the flag, often connected with hate and terrorism by many African Americans, had reminded him throughout his life of fear, anger and claims of racial supremacy. The special license plate legislation passed, but without the flag. SCV members vow they have never used the flag for such purposes as Jones claimed. But the flag is sometimes used as a symbol of ``oppression, violence and brutality,'' said Janis V. Sanchez, professor of psychology at Old Dominion University. ``The argument is that the flag was appropriated by the KKK,'' Sanchez said. ``But that doesn't change the fact that it is associated with the Klan and with slavery. The Civil War was about slavery, and that's what the Confederate flag stands for. It has been used by many people to send a signal to African Americans. ``I know the Sons of Confederate Veterans are saying that it represents their heritage, but they cannot separate the meanings.'' The SCV claims that the Civil War wasn't about slavery; rather, it was about states' rights. More than 95 percent of the soldiers who fought for the South weren't even slave owners, they maintain. More like 85 percent, said Dr. Harold D. Wilson, an ODU history professor. At the time of the Civil War, there were 9 million people in the Southern states, Wilson said; 4 million of those were slaves. Of the remaining 5 million, 330,000--mostly white males--were slave owners. Wilson said he believes about 85 percent of the soldiers didn't own slaves. Some blacks, he pointed out, did serve with the South. ``In the North, blacks participated fully in the war; in the South, they were mostly servants or laborers,'' Wilson said. ``There were great debates over whether blacks should fight for the Confederacy, and they were conducted mostly in a very private, sensitive manner.'' What caused the Civil War? ``In the upper Southern states, it probably was states' rights,'' Wilson said. ``In the lower South, with its large plantations, it was more about slavery. ``What in the world does the battle flag represent? It was the military flag of the Confederacy. It represented the might of the Confederate government. To that part of the Confederacy where there were few slave owners, it may have represented something entirely different.'' And that part of the Confederacy may well represent Virginia, Wilson admitted. The Confederate battle flag was first used by the Army of Northern Virginia, where there were few large slave owners compared to the deep South. Should the Sons of Confederate Veterans be allowed to use the flag on its license plate? The group has an ally it likely doesn't even know about. The Rev. Jeff Berry, national imperial wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, said he believes it is their right. Like the SCV, the Klan uses the flag to represent ``heritage, not hate,'' said Berry, whose group was started by Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest. Unlike the SCV, non-whites are not allowed in the Klan. The two groups have no connection, Berry said. But the Klan, which says it believes first in the U.S. Constitution, says the SCV ought to be able to display the Confederate flag. ``If it isn't OK to fly the Confederate flag in the U.S., why is it OK for blacks to fly the African flag?'' Berry said. ``We would defend the right of the SCV to fly its flag. Nobody should be able to take that right away.'' ____________________