Whistlin' Dixie

If you haven't heard by now, Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell declared April Confederate History Month. In his original proclamation, McDonnell acknowledged the state's role as the capital of the Confederate States of America, the fact that many key battles took place on state soil, and even praised the " sacrifices of the Confederate leaders, soldiers and citizens during the period of the Civil War."

But there's one thing McDonnell forgot to mention in his proclamation: slavery.

Oops.

Now, Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour might not think the proclamation and omission is a big deal, but I think Barbour, McDonnell, and many others who cling to the Confederacy and its symbols need a quick history lesson.

Like it or not, the Confederacy separated from the Union to uphold slavery. You could say that other issues such as states' rights or the balance of power between North and the South caused the war, but those issues have a large link to slavery.

Overlooking slavery's role in the Civil War is like talking about World War II and overlooking the fact that the Holocaust happened. You just can't do it.

The fact that McDonnell sees fit to honor the Confederacy should also turn heads.

While they lost the war, many in Confederate states tried their darnedest to keep former slaves in their place. After Reconstruction, the many political and social gains Southern Blacks got immediately after the war were rolled back. Jim Crow laws kept former slaves isolated economically and socially from the rest of Southern society. The Ku Klux Klan and other groups ushered in a violent period where it was acceptable to lynch and maim blacks.

During the Civil Rights Movement, when blacks had the audacity to challenge over 400 years of mistreatment, white segregationists responded by trotting out the Confederate flag and other trappings of the good ol' days.

The message was clear: Whites were supposed to rule the South. The Confederacy was willing to go to war for it in 1861. The Ku Klux Klan made sure former slaves knew that in 1867 and again in 1915. George Wallace and Bull Connor made sure Civil Rights protesters knew it in 1963.

When I wrote back in November about the University of Mississippi's ban of the chant "the South Will Rise Again," Southerners accused me of picking on Mississippi and the South, being too PC, and trying to stir up problems by bringing up the distant past.

However, what those readers fail to realize is that the actions of their ancestors have had far reaching consequences in the history of this country.

Last Saturday, I went to the America I Am traveling exhibit that's here in Los Angeles. The exhibit literally takes you through the African American experience, from pre-slavery to the Obama presidency.

While the experience was uplifting, you got a sense of the pain blacks felt for much of this country's history. It's true that both North and South have had their racial issues, that both sides at one point had slaves. But it was the Confederate states who literally fought to uphold the system of white domination, and for all intents and purposes did uphold the system until the mid 1960s.

Simply put, it's nothing to celebrate.