Columnist and Southern heritage activist Mark Vogl (who has appeared on the SNN podcast) writes in a recent article for NolanChart.com:
Times have changed since the 100th Anniversary of the American Civil War [sic] where the nation [sic], under John F. Kennedy, took great pains to honor the South. Not this time.
This time the Sesquicentennial Anniversary (150th) has been turned into a nation [sic]-wide opportunity to shame the South, dishonor those who served the South, and sweep as much American history as possible under the rug.
The national leadership of the United Daughters of the Confederacy appear to be complicit in the ongoing actions to hide the Confederate colors in Richmond. And Waite Rawls, a graduate of Virginia Military Institute, member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans and Director of the Museum of the Confederacy has been the spokesperson for the Museum explaining the reasons for not flying the Confederate flag at Appomattox. Pointing to reunification as the result of Appomattox, Rawls has said it would not be appropriate to fly the colors there.
However, the national leadership of the Sons of Confederate Veterans have finally been awakened to the ongoing struggles. The national board of directors of the Sons of Confederate Veterans recently passed a resolution calling on its membership to boycott the grand opening of a new Annex of the Museum of the Confederacy at Appomattox, while simultaneously calling on the museum to fly one Confederate flag at the new site.
And in a letter to the thirty thousand members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, Michael Givens has begun the process to rally his forces for an extended fight. But Givens knows the membership of the S.C.V. has proven to be an unreliable political force. Last summer when Givens called on the various state organizations of the SCV to act in support of Virginia concerning the headstones at Oakwood Cemetery, the reaction was not all it could have been.
A few hard core leaders in Texas attempted to organize a mail campaign to federal elected officials to make them aware of the VA’s failure to meet the law passed in Congress. Texas had the potential to generate 10,000 letters from its members. But another group of leaders within the Texas SCV (known as grannies) blocked that mail offensive, and only a pitiful 400 letters were sent from Texas. Texas had been in the national news concerning vanity license plates, but the Texas SCV folded its colors when Governor Perry dismissed their application.
So this new effort by the Sons of Confederate Veterans under Michael Givens will be a real test of the membership. Will the membership rally across the South to support the Cause… or will they follow the lead of the Texas grannies and let political correctness rule the day?
Shame to the SCV members who won’t support the flags colors at Appomattox or anywhere else.
I am a proud member of the SCV and you can bet I will not dishonor my gg grandfather who was at Appomattox.
I will send my letter to both the SCV and the folks at Appomattox soon!