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Georgia Senate Panel OKs Confederate Month
NewsMax.com Wires Friday, March 16, 2007
ATLANTA -- A panel of Georgia lawmakers signed off Thursday on a plan to
create a Confederate heritage month, even as legislative leaders reacted
coolly to a push to apologize for the state's role in slavery.
Sen. Jeff Mullis' bill would dub April as Confederate History and Heritage
Month to honor the memory of the Confederacy and "all those millions of its
citizens of various races and ethnic groups and religions who contributed in
sundry and myriad ways to the cause of Southern Independence."
The unanimous vote by the Senate Rules committee - which sent the plan on to
the full Senate for consideration - comes days after black lawmakers
announced plans to ask the state to officially apologize for its role in
slavery and segregation-era laws.
Virginia's legislature last month passed a resolution expressing "profound
regret" for the state's role in slavery, and lawmakers in Missouri and
Congress have proposed similar measures.
Democratic Rep. Tyrone Brooks, chairman of the Georgia Association of Black
Elected Officials, said it's discouraging to see the Confederate month
proposal moving ahead after leaders of the Republican-controlled House and
Senate said they're not in favor of apologizing for slavery.
"Georgia needs to recognize and apologize and atone for its part in the
slave trade, as Virginia has done," Brooks said. "Until we do, I think there
will continue to be resistance from African-Americans and others who are
serving in the General Assembly" to efforts like Confederate month.
Mullis, a Republican, said his bill was not a response to the
slavery-apology movement.
"I'm from Chickamauga, so it seemed pretty appropriate for me to do
something to commemorate the War Between the States," Mullis said. His
family owned land at the site of the Battle of Chickamauga, the Civil War's
second-bloodiest battle and the South's last major victory.
Mullis has supported efforts to create a Civil Rights History Month in
Georgia but opposes a slavery apology. "If I had done something personally,
yes, I would apologize," he said.
The state's branch of the NAACP called the push for a Confederate month
hypocritical.
"Although the supporters of the Confederate history bill feel responsible to
honor the past deeds of their ancestors through official governmental
action, they resist all notions that they have any responsibility to
apologize to their ancestors' victims through official governmental action,"
said Edward Dubose, president of the group's Georgia chapter. "That reeks of
hypocrisy."
Brooks, who said black lawmakers plan to officially introduce their slavery
legislation next week, said he hopes Mullis' bill at least will encourage
discussion. He said he's not necessarily against the idea of a Confederate
month - as long as similar recognition is given to the state's black
history.
"All of Georgia's history should be promoted and respected and highlighted,"
he said. "Hopefully this will lead us into some meaningful dialogue."
Georgia Senate Panel OKs Confederate Month
NewsMax.com Wires Friday, March 16, 2007
ATLANTA -- A panel of Georgia lawmakers signed off Thursday on a plan to
create a Confederate heritage month, even as legislative leaders reacted
coolly to a push to apologize for the state's role in slavery.
Sen. Jeff Mullis' bill would dub April as Confederate History and Heritage
Month to honor the memory of the Confederacy and "all those millions of its
citizens of various races and ethnic groups and religions who contributed in
sundry and myriad ways to the cause of Southern Independence."
The unanimous vote by the Senate Rules committee - which sent the plan on to
the full Senate for consideration - comes days after black lawmakers
announced plans to ask the state to officially apologize for its role in
slavery and segregation-era laws.
Virginia's legislature last month passed a resolution expressing "profound
regret" for the state's role in slavery, and lawmakers in Missouri and
Congress have proposed similar measures.
Democratic Rep. Tyrone Brooks, chairman of the Georgia Association of Black
Elected Officials, said it's discouraging to see the Confederate month
proposal moving ahead after leaders of the Republican-controlled House and
Senate said they're not in favor of apologizing for slavery.
"Georgia needs to recognize and apologize and atone for its part in the
slave trade, as Virginia has done," Brooks said. "Until we do, I think there
will continue to be resistance from African-Americans and others who are
serving in the General Assembly" to efforts like Confederate month.
Mullis, a Republican, said his bill was not a response to the
slavery-apology movement.
"I'm from Chickamauga, so it seemed pretty appropriate for me to do
something to commemorate the War Between the States," Mullis said. His
family owned land at the site of the Battle of Chickamauga, the Civil War's
second-bloodiest battle and the South's last major victory.
Mullis has supported efforts to create a Civil Rights History Month in
Georgia but opposes a slavery apology. "If I had done something personally,
yes, I would apologize," he said.
The state's branch of the NAACP called the push for a Confederate month
hypocritical.
"Although the supporters of the Confederate history bill feel responsible to
honor the past deeds of their ancestors through official governmental
action, they resist all notions that they have any responsibility to
apologize to their ancestors' victims through official governmental action,"
said Edward Dubose, president of the group's Georgia chapter. "That reeks of
hypocrisy."
Brooks, who said black lawmakers plan to officially introduce their slavery
legislation next week, said he hopes Mullis' bill at least will encourage
discussion. He said he's not necessarily against the idea of a Confederate
month - as long as similar recognition is given to the state's black
history.
"All of Georgia's history should be promoted and respected and highlighted,"
he said. "Hopefully this will lead us into some meaningful dialogue."
