Welcome to Confederate History Month

The New York Times
By FRANK RICH
Published: April 17, 2010

It's kind of like that legendary stunt on the prime-time soap "Dallas," where we learned that nothing bad had really happened because the previous season's episodes were all a dream. We now know that the wave of anger that crashed on the Capitol as the health care bill passed last month — the death threats and epithets hurled at members of Congress — was also a mirage.
Take it from the louder voices on the right. Because no tape has surfaced of anyone yelling racial slurs at the civil rights icon and Georgia Congressman John Lewis, it’s now a blogosphere “fact” that Lewis is a liar and the “lamestream media” concocted the entire incident. The same camp maintains as well that the spit landing on the Missouri Congressman Emanuel Cleaver was inadvertent spillover saliva from an over-frothing screamer — spittle, not spit, as it were. True, there is video evidence of the homophobic venom directed at Barney Frank — but, hey, Frank is white, so no racism there!
“It’s Not About Race” declared a headline on a typical column defending over-the-top “Obamacare” opponents from critics like me, who had the nerve to suggest a possible racial motive in the rage aimed at the likes of Lewis and Cleaver — neither of whom were major players in the Democrats’ health care campaign.

Full Editorial: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/18/opinion/18rich.html

The True Confederate History Month: March, Not April

NAACP Legal Defense Fund
The DefendersOnline
Posted By The Editors April 9th, 2010

By Lee A. Daniels
Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell got the wrong month this past week when he proclaimed April Confederate History Month.
The right month to place even greater emphasis on studying the Confederacy is March.
But, his “error” is something historian Barbara W. Tuchman would have understood. In her 1981 book, Practicing History: Selected Essays, she wrote that “Leaving things out because they do not fit is writing fiction, not history.”
In that regard, Confederate sympathizers have been writing fiction about what the Confederacy stood for ever since Robert E. Lee surrendered to U.S.Grant at Appomattox, Virginia April 9, 1865. Governor McDonnell’s choosing the wrong month was as deliberate as his initial omission of any reference to Virginia having been a slave state; and to the Confederacy having fought the war in order to maintain slavery, and as his implying that Virginia was then an all-white state, when in fact in 1860 blacks, both enslaved and free, comprised nearly half of its population.
But then, the contortions of the Republican Governor’s original proclamation are entirely consistent with the record of racially-coded politics the erstwhile “Party of Lincoln” has employed for the last four decades.
It has not been Abraham Lincoln’s Republican Party for some time – not since the mass-action phase of the Civil Rights Movement helped shatter the depiction of the Confederacy as a heroic enterprise of benevolent whites fighting bravely for their “freedom.” That falsehood had distorted the consideration of the Civil War in school history texts, Hollywood films and the mainstream media for nearly a century. As Gov. McDonnell’s action proves, Confederate sympathizers have continued to try to reconstruct a gauzy mint-julep–on-the-veranda fiction about what their beloved Eden stood for.
They becloud the atmosphere with pious incantations of the “honor” and “courage” and “sacrifice” Confederate soldiers endured [link to proclamation coming] – as if individual soldiers’ bravery can cover up and purify fighting for an evil cause.
But such perfumed language can’t conceal the brutal facts about the human suffering that was the central characteristic of the South’s “peculiar institution.”

Full Story: http://www.thedefendersonline.com/2010/04/09/the-true-confederate-history-month-march-not-april/

Bob McDonnell Apologizes For Slavery Omission In 'Confederate History Month' Proclamation

Huffington Post

Nick Wing and Michael Falcone

First Posted: 04- 7-10 01:55 PM

Updated: 04- 7-10 06:24 PM

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell's apologized on Wednesday for declaring April as "Confederate History Month," but failing to mention slavery anywhere in his proclamation.
"The proclamation issued by this Office designating April as Confederate History Month contained a major omission. The failure to include any reference to slavery was a mistake, and for that I apologize to any fellow Virginian who has been offended or disappointed," McDonnell said in a statement.
The newly-minted GOP governor added: "The Confederate History Month proclamation issued was solely intended to promote the study of our history, encourage tourism in our state in advance of the 150th Anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War, and recognize Virginia's unique role in the story of America."
But earlier, McDonnell told the Washington Post that slavery was not "significant" enough to be included in the proclamation:

McDonnell said Tuesday that the move was designed to promote tourism in the
state, which next year will mark the 150th anniversary of the start of the
war. McDonnell said he did not include a reference to slavery because "there
were any number of aspects to that conflict between the states. Obviously,
it involved slavery. It involved other issues. But I focused on the ones I
thought were most significant for Virginia."

Full Story: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/07/bob-mcdonnell-leaves-out_n_528733.html

Gov. McDonnell's airbrushing of Virginia history

The Washington Post
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
IT WAS only in 1997, 132 years after the Civil War, that Virginia finally retired "Carry Me Back to Old Virginia" as its state song, acknowledging that the lyrics (including "this old darky's heart" and "old Massa") offended blacks, among others. Now, inexplicably, Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R) has issued a proclamation that blatantly airbrushes the history of Virginia, the Civil War and the United States, again raising questions about how far the Old Dominion has evolved, or not.
It's fine that Mr. McDonnell decided to proclaim April as Confederate History Month; the Confederacy is an important chapter of history that merits study and draws tourists to Virginia. But any serious statement on the Confederacy and the Civil War would at least recognize the obvious fact -- that slavery was the major cause of the war, and that the Confederacy fought largely in defense of what it called "property," which meant the right to own slaves. Instead, Mr. McDonnell's proclamation chose to omit this, declaring instead that Virginians fought "for their homes and communities and Commonwealth." The words "slavery" and "slaves" do not appear.
Even more incendiary is the proclamation's directive that "all Virginians" must appreciate the state's "shared" history and the Confederacy's sacrifices. Surely he isn't including the 500,000 Virginia slaves who constituted more than a quarter of the state's Civil War-era population, who cheered the Union and ran away to it when they could.

Full Story: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/06/AR2010040602953.html?wpisrc=nl_cuzhead

Reversal in Virginia on Anti-Gay Bias

Inside Higher Ed
March 11, 2010
Virginia's public colleges and universities may be able to ban anti-gay discrimination after all.

Days after the state's attorney general told the institutions that they couldn't ban discrimination against gay people, the governor said they could. Gov. Robert F. McDonnell's announcement came amid growing student protests about the attorney general's policy and strong statements by some college officials that suggested they would ignore the attorney general. Both McDonnell and the attorney general, Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II, are Republicans.

Cuccinelli infuriated many students and faculty members in Virginia when they learned from The Washington Post that he had sent a letter to public colleges and universities last week saying that they lacked the authority to bar discrimination against gay people as part of their anti-bias policies. Cuccinelli argued that only the General Assembly could bar such discrimination and since it had not done so, the public colleges couldn't.

Full Story: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/03/11/virginia

Virginia Executive Directive Reverses Attorney General Position on Gay Rights

Commonwealth of Virginia
Office of the Governor
Executive Directive #1 (2010)

STANDARD OF CONDUCT FORCABINET MEMBERS, EXECUTIVE BRANCH AGENCYHEADS, MANAGERS, SUPERVISORS AND EMPLOYEESCONCERNING EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION

As the chief executive officer for the Commonwealth of Virginia,I hereby establish a standard of conduct to ensure that all cabinet members,Executive Branch agency heads, managers, supervisors and employeesunderstand and enforce state and federal law prohibiting employmentdiscrimination.Employment discrimination of any kind will not be tolerated by thisAdministration. The Virginia Human Rights Act recognizes theunlawfulness of conduct that violates any Virginia or federal statute orregulation governing discrimination against certain enumerated classes ofpersons. The Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitutionprohibits discrimination without a rational basis against any class of persons.Discrimination based on factors such as one’s sexual orientation or parentalstatus violates the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution.Therefore, discrimination against enumerated classes of persons set forth inthe Virginia Human Rights Act or discrimination against any class ofpersons without a rational basis is prohibited.Consistent with state and federal law, and the Virginia and UnitedStates Constitutions, I hereby direct that the hiring, promotion,compensation, treatment, discipline, and termination of state employees shallbe based on an individual’s job qualifications, merit and performance. Noemployee of the Executive Branch shall engage in any discriminatoryconduct against another employee.Executive Directive 1 (2010)Executive Directive 1 (2010)Page 2Allegations of any violation of the law or this standard of conduct shall be brought promptly to the attention of the Director of the Department of Human Resource Management for review and corrective action. Any cabinet member, agency head, manager, supervisor or employee who discriminates against a state employee or prospective employee in violation of the law or this standard of conduct shall be subject to appropriate disciplinary action, ranging from reprimand to termination.I further direct agency heads to ensure that every manager and supervisor in their respective agency is aware of and enforces this standard of conduct. Civility, fair treatment, and mutual respect shall be the standard of conduct expected in state employment.
/s/ Robert F. McDonnell, Governor
http://static.mgnetwork.com/rtd/pdfs/20100310_executive_directive_one.pdf

Virginia HBCUs Struggle With Legal Opinion That Bars Protection for Gays

Diverse Issues in Higher Education
by Peter Galuszka , March 10, 2010

RICHMOND, Va. - Virginia's historically Black colleges and universities are reeling after a controversial legal opinion by Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli that would invalidate any policy erected by public colleges that bans discrimination against gays and lesbians.
"This is having a chilling effect," says Dr. Charles Ford, a professor of history and interim associate dean of the College of Arts and Science at Norfolk State University. He says historically Black schools will be hardest hit if the opinion keeps away private foundation and grant money.
Cuccinelli issued his opinion just days after the state Legislature committee killed a bill to extend anti-discrimination rights to gay state workers. The issue is politically charged because the discrimination issue had been taken up in the Legislature after the state's conservative governor, Robert McDonnell, refused to include gays in an executive order prohibiting discrimination against state workers.
McDonnell’s two Democratic predecessors, former Govs. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, included gays in their anti-discrimination executive orders. During his campaign last year, the socially conservative McDonnell was criticized for a graduate thesis he wrote saying that the government should give married heterosexual couples more rights than "cohabiters, homosexuals and fornicators."

Full Story: http://diverseeducation.com/article/13612/virginia-hbcus-struggle-with-legal-opinion-that-bars-protection-for-gays.html

Students irate at Cuccinelli over gay-rights policies

The Washington Post
By Daniel de Vise and Rosalind S. Helderman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Campus activists across Virginia put spring break on hold Monday to mobilize against Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II, who has riled student groups with a letter advising public universities to retreat from their policies against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

More than 3,000 people joined the Facebook page "We Don't Want Discrimination In Our State Universities And Colleges!" Nearly 1,000 people joined another, started by activists at the College of William and Mary. The University of Virginia group Queer & Allied Activism urged students to protest on Cuccinelli's Facebook page and on Twitter.
Students at Virginia Commonwealth University, one of the few in the state not on break, planned a rally for noon Wednesday, with several hundred students committed. At Christopher Newport University, student Republican and Democratic leaders will discuss their next steps at a bipartisan meeting Friday.
"I've never gotten so many e-mails from students wanting to do something," said Brandon Carroll, 21, president of the student government at Virginia Tech. He said any erosion in gay rights at state universities is "going to make us lose top students. It's going to make us lose top faculty."
A growing number of industry leaders have also lined up against the directive from Cuccinelli (R), some portraying it as a threat to the quality and competitiveness of Virginia's higher-education system.
On Thursday, Cuccinelli wrote in a letter that Virginia's public universities could not adopt policies that prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation "absent specific authorization from the General Assembly." All of Virginia's largest state schools have adopted such language. Faculty leaders at William and Mary sought expanded protections for gender identity and expression earlier this school year.

Full Story: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/08/AR2010030804999.html