sons of confederate veterans - the couriertennessee-scv.org/camp1293/sept15.pdf · 2015-09-19 ·...

The CourierNewsletter Newsletter Newsletter Newsletter of of of of the the the the Sam Sam Sam Sam Davis Davis Davis Davis Camp Camp Camp Camp No. No. No. No. 1293 1293 1293 1293 SCVSCVSCVSCV*Sons *Sons *Sons *Sons of of of of Confederate Confederate Confederate Confederate Veterans* Veterans* Veterans* Veterans* BrentwoodBrentwoodBrentwoodBrentwood, , , , TnTnTnTn * * * * September, September, September, September, 2015*2015*2015*2015*

A Danger to History...Hall, named after former South

Carolina Governor Benjamin

Tillman.

While saying he can’t get

into the minds of professors

and students who oppose

Southern relics, Queen said he

can’t but help believe they see a

comparison between Nazi

Germany and the Old South.

“People who embrace the

culture of Nazi Germany today

appear to do so expressly for

the hate, while the vast

majority of devotees of the Old

Southern culture express their

affection for that era minus the

terrible evils of slavery and

racism. For some reason, I

think some folks can’t (or won’t)

make that distinction,” he said.

The recent push to remove

Southern and Confederate

symbols has risen out of the

Black Lives Matter movement,

which extended to college

campuses from Ferguson and

New York last fall. Calls for

removal intensified after a

racially motivated Charleston,

S.C., church shooting that

killed nine brought national

debate over the Confederate

flag.

The Confederate flag was

removed in July from the state

capital “after the state

legislature passed a bill

ordering it, buoyed by

arguments that a flag that

some see as a symbol of

support for of racism and white

supremacy couldn’t remain on

the Capitol grounds after the

Charleston massacre,” CNN

reports.

Queen said he believes

“there’s a certain antipathy that

A Georgia native who

recently penned a book that

pays homage to Southern

history and culture said that

current efforts to eradicate

from campuses any and all

relics of the Old South or the

Confederacy are misguided and

“present a danger to the

preservation and study of

history.”

Chris Queen, a freelance

writer, University of Georgia

alum, and author of “Football,

Faith, and Flannery O’Connor:

A Love Letter to the South,”

recently spoke to The College

Fix regarding the flurry of

demands by college students

and faculty to remove from

campuses reminders of the Old

South – such as statues and

flags.

“I believe that completely

getting rid of these symbols

does present a danger to the

preservation and study of

history. Any genuine under-

standing of the South — good

and bad — must include an

understanding of the culture of

the era of slavery,” Queen said

via email.

Today, a main critique

against Southern symbols on

college campuses reasons they

are reminders of slavery and

oppression and are better

suited for museums. Queen

does not buy that argument.

“My gut reaction is to say

that those rationales are based

on hypersensitivity and thin

skin. That may actually be true

for some of these advocates,

but I think that many of these

people see the love of Southern

culture in the wrong light,” he

said.

The push to remove these

symbols are attempts to erase or

forget about the darker sides of

American history. Yet for Queen,

an accurate understanding of the

South must include and realize

the South’s history of slavery

instead of removing it or pretend-

ing it never existed.

“There’s a lot about the

antebellum South that we as a

country need to acknowledge and

heal from, even a century and a

half later. But stripping the

aspects of the culture that are

beautiful and meaningful doesn’t

foster healing,” he said.

In the past several months,

nearly a half dozen symbols and

namesakes of the Old South and

Confederacy have been targeted

by students and university faculty

for removal, with some being

removed. Last month the

University of Texas relocated a

statue of Confederate President

Jefferson Davis after the student

government called for its removal.

In Kentucky, 72 historians

representing 16 Kentucky colleges

and universities have called for

the state to remove a statue of

Davis from its capitol rotunda. For

some historians and professors,

the statue “offers a visceral and

potent mis-education.”

In addition to statues, college

students and faculty have

targeted buildings named after

historical figures of the Old South

as well, alleging they are ties to

racism and slavery. The Confeder-

ate flag and any historical figure

who ever supported slavery are

also targeted by such campaigns.

At Yale, students have

petitioned to rename Calhoun

Hall, named after the seventh U.S.

vice president, John C. Calhoun.

At Clemson, the faculty senate

has pushed to rename Tillman ... continued next page...

September 26th (Saturday) ~~

Work Day at the Oglesby Commu-

nity Center (our home base). Paint

up and fix up, in lieu of our regular

meeting. The Center is adjacent to

the Woodson Chapel Church of

Christ on Edmondson Pike, 1/2

block South of the intersection of

Edmondson Pike and Old Hickory

Blvd.

October 22nd ~~ Sam Davis Camp

meets at 6:00 p.m., Oglesby

Community Center.

November 11th ~~ Nashville

Veteran's Day Parade, 11:00 a.m.,

16th & Broad

November 29th ~~ Annual Battle

of Franklin / Winstead Hill

Memorial March

December 3rd ~~ Sam Davis Camp

November/December meeting.

Elections will be held!

December 12th ~~ South Carolina

Secession Party at Battery Andrews

December 13th ~~ Battle of

Nashville Remembrance, 2 -4 p.m.

Forthcoming 2015 Programs

October -- Gary Carlyle, Com-

mander, Alabama Division SCV

has been brewing for many years”

at colleges and university when it

comes to the South.

He tells the story of taking a

Civil War history class while a

student at the University of Georgia

in the early 1990s and how one

“Yankee” student bucked the

professor every chance she could

because of the professor’s “affinity

for the culture of the South.”

“Even back then, I could see

the seeds of what we’re witnessing

today,” Queen said.

But even more innocuous

Southern symbols have become

targets.

At Dartmouth, a longtime

“Kentucky Derby” party was called

racist and accused of recreating

Antebellum South because of its

preppy attire and exclusivity as a

Greek life event.

Writing in the Washington Post

recently, a research associate in

American Studies at the University

of Maryland declared it’s time to

“remove the Southern belle from

her inglorious perch,” adding:

“Young white women serve as signs

of nostalgia for a bygone, segre-

gated South and all its attendant

privileges.”

The widely used and beloved

“Ole Miss” nickname has long been

a target of rancor due to its historic

ties to slavery.

Queen said he believes the

hesitancy of college communities to

embrace the South stems from an

inability to separate Southern

heritage and culture from the “the

ugliness of slavery.”

“People outside the South —

and a few people within the South

— don’t understand that the vast

majority of people who love and

value the ‘Old Southern’ culture are

able to separate the gallantry and

pageantry of that culture from the

ugliness of slavery,” Queen said.

Southern culture, as Queen

describes in his book, includes

“astounding cultural traditions,

from music to visual arts to a

beautiful literary tradition that

spans the entire history of America”

and is much more than just

slavery. ~ article by Nathan

Rubbelke for "The College Fix"

... continued from page 1...

Billed as a "throwback race,"

Darlington fulfilled that expectation

-- in every way.

Cars adorned with classic paint

schemes of yesteryear -- including

those associated with Hall of

Famers Richard Petty, David

Pearson and Bobby Allison -- were

everywhere. Drivers spoke wistfully

about the importance of the event,

as fans reveled in the sport

honoring its rich past instead of

running away from it as NASCAR is

so often accused of doing.

In nearly every way the

atmosphere was exactly what

Darlington Raceway and NASCAR

officials sought when they restored

the Southern 500 back to the

traditional Labor Day weekend date

it held from 1950 to 2003.

And the "throwback" theme

extended beyond what was

happening on the track. Through-

out Darlington's infield and the

camping grounds surrounding the

track located in a sleepy town of

almost 6,300, there persisted the

inescapable sight of a red flag with

blue bars and white stars.

The Confederate flag and

NASCAR have long been inter-

twined, the roots of each extending

to the Deep South with some

regarding both as Southern

institutions. For decades the stars

and bars were omnipresent at

NASCAR races. Darlington's used to

label its spring event the "Rebel

400," featured the flag prominently

on programs and other advertise-

ments and played "Dixie" during

pre-race ceremonies.

Over the years, though, the

sanctioning body has distanced

itself greatly from the Confederate

flag. This summer, following the

shooting deaths of nine African-

Americans at the hands of a white

supremacist inside a Charleston,

S.C. church -- two hours south of

Darlington -- NASCAR CEO and

chairman Brian France called it an

"offensive symbol" and said, "we will

go as far as we can to eliminate the

presence of that flag."

NASCAR attempted to

eradicate the flag from the

speedway's grounds through

a program where fans would

turn in a Confederate flag

and receive an American one

in return. Except despite

NASCAR's effort, the flag

was quite conspicuous

throughout the Darlington

weekend. From flags to t-

shirts, hats to can coolers,

tattoos to pants it was

impossible not to turn your

head and see the symbol

being displayed in some

fashion.

At one flag exchange

point there were no takers

as of Sunday morning and a

box of American flags sat

untouched. Two security

guards were clueless such a

swap existed, while another

dismissed the idea.

"No one in this crowd is

going to give up their

Confederate flag for an America

one," the guard said. "They already

own an American flag. Plus, they

think by handing over the

Confederate flag would be a form of

surrendering in their mind."

Because either NBC didn't want

to show a national television

audience an event where the

controversial flag was being

displayed so freely, or event

organizers wanted to give spotters a

clearer view of the speedway

(attendees say both reasons were

cited by security, though neither

could be confirmed as a Darlington

spokesman declined comment),

security personnel instructed

patrons to take down their flags

whenever cars were on the track.

"It's kinda ironic that they want

to have a retro, throwback

Southern 500 with all these cars

painted like they were in the 1970s,

but in the 70s the Confederate flag

was all over this place," said

Emerson Etheridge, who had nine

such flags flying off long poles

attached to the top of his motor-

home. "What's next? Where does it

stop? Pretty soon you won't be

allowed to fly a British flag or a

rainbow colored flag.

"What's wrong with our history

and way of life?"

Describing himself as a "long,

longtime" fan who's been coming to

Darlington for 45 years, Etheridge

recently has felt excluded. This is a

common sentiment among fans

who grew up watching Petty,

Pearson and Allison and not just

their replica cars.

Starting in the 1990s, NASCAR

expanded its presence nationally

with races added in Southern

California, Dallas, New England

and elsewhere, a broadening that

came at the expense of tracks

located in the Southeast. That shift,

accompanied with perceived over-

commercialism, seemingly un-

relatable drivers and bevy of major

changes that transformed stock

racing from what it was in the

1970s and ‘80s, cost NASCAR a

once very devout segment of

supporters.

But as its popularity has

rescinded since the mid-2000s,

NASCAR realized it needed to win

back that formerly fervent base of

fans that had felt marginalized. To

help regain its appeal, NASCAR

encouraged drivers to voice

opinions, emboldened the kind of

rough driving that once earned

penalties, and moved the Southern

500 back to its rightful place on the

Sprint Cup calendar.

"There ain't no good ol'

boys, just young punks with

money," said Billy Hatcher, a

native South Carolinian

who's been coming to

Darlington since the 1970s.

"NASCAR's almost IndyCar

now. No one hits each other.

There's no contact. Ever

since Dale [Earnhardt] Sr.

died there's no badass

mother f***ers anymore. And

I hate the Chase."

Hatcher was holding

court in his campground

across the street from the

track. So disillusioned with

what NASCAR evolved into,

he preferred to remain

outside the speedway where

he could flip between the

race and college football on

the flat-screen he brought

with him.

"It isn't just about the

race, there's college football

and a party out here," said

Hatcher, shirtless with a Bud Light

in one hand and a cigar in the

other. "I don't feel wanted in there."

That's the juxtaposition

NASCAR finds itself faced with. On

one hand it seeks to cater to the

older devotee who feels disenfran-

chised; however that same fan base

largely carries a belief that they

should be allowed to conduct

themselves without reform. That

includes proudly displaying the

Confederate flag, even if others may

find it offensive.

"You ain't taking it away,"

Hatcher said. "It's Southern pride

and got nothing to do with racism.

Older black people aren't offended

by the flag, it's all the young black

people that are not working and

raising Cain. If anyone has a right

to be pissed, it's the Indians

because we took their damn land." -

- from SportsNation

Published by The Sam Davis Camp #1293, Sons

of Confederate Veterans, P. O. Box 3448,

Brentwood, Tenn. 37024

Commander ~ Nelson Boren

1st Lt. Commander ~

2d Lt. Commander ~

Adjutant ~ Allen Sullivant 971-7454

Treasurer ~ James Turner 335-6944

Chaplain ~ Tony Rocchietti 399-1606

Newsletter Editor ~ Allen Sullivant 971-7454

Web Address ~ http://www.samdaviscamp.org

"It has been my very great good fortune to have the

right to claim my blood is half southern and half

northern, and I would deny the right of any man here

to feel a greater pride in the deeds of every southerner

than I feel. Of all the children, the brothers and sisters

of my mother who were born and brought up in that

house on the hill there, my two uncles afterward

entered the Confederate service and served with the

Confederate Navy."

"Men and women, don't you think I have the

ancestral right to claim a proud kinship with those who

showed their devotion to duty as they saw the duty,

whether they wore the grey or whether they wore the

blue? All Americans who are worthy the name feel an

equal pride in the valor of those who fought on one side

or the other, provided only that each did with all his

strength and soul and mind his duty as it was given to

him to see his duty." Theodore Roosevelt, 1905

On the right in this Spanish-American War photo is

Theodore Roosevelt (quoted above). Next to him in the

lighter colored uniform is Col. Leonard Wood. The

shorter officer in front of the rest is the former

Confederate cavalry general and now U. S. Army Maj.

Gen. of Volunteers, "Fighting Joe" Wheeler. During

action at the Battle of Las Guasimas, the first major

engagement of the war, the Spanish line broke and they

began to retreat. Upon seeing this development,

Wheeler supposedly called out "Let's go, boys! We've got

the damn Yankees on the run again!"