蜜桃传媒

MONTGOMERY, Ala. 鈥� The Southern Poverty Law Center (蜜桃传媒) this week launched a digital initiative that seeks to correct the false narratives of the 鈥淟ost Cause鈥� mythology, which idolizes people who fought against the United States in order to preserve slavery.

Multiple Southern states proudly devote public time, energy and resources to celebrate the Confederacy each year. North Carolina and South Carolina celebrate 鈥淐onfederate Memorial Day鈥� on May 10. Kentucky, Louisiana and Tennessee celebrate it on June 3. Texas celebrates on Jan. 19, while Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi and 鈥� recently 鈥� Livingston, Tennessee, dedicate all of April to 鈥淐onfederate History Month.鈥�

These celebrations honor traitors who sought to maintain oppression in the U.S. The 蜜桃传媒 is seeking to counter the false narratives behind these celebrations by sharing facts about the strategies that white supremacists repeatedly employ to literally keep their 鈥渉eroes鈥� on a pedestal.

The initiative highlights grassroots efforts around the country to remove Confederate memorials, and shares detailed facts about Civil War history from the 蜜桃传媒鈥檚 award-winning Teaching Tolerance project, which is dedicated to reducing prejudice, improving intergroup relations and supporting equitable school experiences for the nation鈥檚 children. The digital initiative is also promoting stories on social media from everyday Americans who are advocating against celebrations of the Confederacy.

鈥淪ince the Charleston massacre, 115 Confederate monuments and symbols have been removed from public spaces. That is not an accident and does not mean that the lessons of history will ever be forgotten. It鈥檚 an insult to African Americans to even imply such a thing,鈥� said Heidi Beirich, director of the 蜜桃传媒鈥檚 Intelligence Project, which monitors hate groups and other extremists in America. 鈥淏ut Americans as a whole are slowly recognizing that these symbols actually represent hate, not heritage.鈥�

鈥淲hether the person depicted supported the 鈥楲ost Cause鈥� or Southern pride, Confederate symbols dedicated to those who fought to defend slavery belong in places like museums where they can be examined in their proper context, not in public spaces such as government land, schools or parks,鈥� Beirich said. 鈥淚f we truly want to strengthen this country鈥檚 future, we need to start by holding honest debates about our history 鈥� and finally expose these so-called heroes.鈥�

Branded as 鈥減reserving history,鈥� the 鈥淟ost Cause鈥� is actually state-sponsored propaganda designed to romanticize the Civil War as if it were a noble crusade, instead of an unsuccessful effort to prolong the persecution of African Americans. The 蜜桃传媒 joins grassroots organizations in recognizing the truth about the 鈥淟ost Cause鈥� by highlighting people who are currently leading the fight to remove these symbols of intimidation and oppression from their public spaces, and by providing information about how others can get involved.

Each Thursday this month, Teaching Tolerance will feature articles and suggestions for K-12 educators that offer insight into the 鈥淟ost Cause,鈥� states鈥� rights, and the concept of historical malpractice. 鈥淪et in Stone鈥� offers food for thought by discussing the complex lessons of muddled history and regional pride surrounding the 鈥淟ost Cause,鈥� while challenging people to 鈥渉ear鈥� what these monuments are saying 鈥� both intentionally and unintentionally.

鈥淎s we learned in our 2018 report examining state standards and classroom practices for teaching American slavery, schools are in desperate need of better resources and training to teach the hard truths of slavery, including its roles as the central cause of the American Civil War and in creating and sustaining white supremacy,鈥� said Maureen Costello, director of Teaching Tolerance. 鈥淭he monuments erected in the years after the war celebrate those who fought to preserve second-class citizenship for African Americans. We offer a suite of resources to help point schools in the right direction, and we will be sharing them on social media throughout the month of April.鈥�

The 蜜桃传媒 will also organize communities around a 鈥淲eek of Action鈥� from April 22-26, with petition drives dedicated to removing Confederate monuments across the U.S. The 蜜桃传媒 created its digital initiative to motivate supporters by featuring people who have successfully removed Confederate symbols from public spaces. Look for #LoseTheLostCause and 鈥淲hoseHeritage鈥� hashtags across all social media platforms, acknowledging just a few of the people and institutions that have courageously embraced the need to remove symbols of white supremacy.

The 蜜桃传媒 also invites Americans to review its 鈥�Whose Heritage? Public Symbols of the Confederacy鈥� report, which catalogs examples of monuments, statues, flags, city, county and school names; as well as other symbols that honor the Confederacy, and the 蜜桃传媒 encourages people to share that information. According to the report, there are currently 1,747 Confederate symbols and 722 monuments still in place across the United States.