Civil War Sunday - History Before Our Eyes

Although the United States Civil War officially ended (for the most part) 150 years ago this past April, I've always maintained that the war never truly ended.  Now, in the almost two weeks after a tragic mass murder during a Bible Study class at a Charleston, South Carolina church, we are seeing still another battle in this seemingly never ending war.

Whether our country will have a true dialog about race, and the legacy of the Civil War as a result of this horrific act, or if it will just be a lot of empty talk and then business as usual, remains to be seen.  But the war that has been simmering under our surface is now more public than ever.  At least surface changes are made.  Perhaps the changes are symbolic, or won't hit upon the tough issues, but the fact is - people are thinking.

I am not blogging today to express my opinions.  Rather, I want to show you pictures of some of the sites that have been in the news.  It's hard to explain this to my readers in Great Britain and India, but I will try.  Even a month ago, in my wildest dreams, I would never have imagined the events of the past almost two weeks.


Where do I even begin?

With the College of Charleston, where one of the funerals took place on Friday?  Their President is a former state senator (noting one of the dead in the shooting was a state senator) and a former lieutenant governor, and was a controversial choice when hired last year.

March, 2015, taken by AM

This is the South Carolina State Senate Chamber, where the Reverend Clementa Pinckney, one of the murdered nine, served. The American flag is on the left and the South Carolina state flag on the right.  Outside this chamber, a Confederate flag flew near a monument on the grounds of the State Capitol. Now, debate rages on whether that flag should be taken down.  

The above President of the College of Charleston?  His views on that question.

Many Southerners will have to ponder how best to celebrate their heritage.

Mt. Pleasant Fishing Pier at Ravenel Bridge at Sunset, March 2015

The Arthur Ravenel, Jr.  Bridge, which connects Charleston, South Carolina with Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, is a favorite destination for walkers and bikers.  I've walked on it a number of times (and completed the entire walk in both directions once). A week ago today, thousands of people (perhaps 40,000)  marched on this bridge. Some joined hands in a "unity chain" to show support for the people of the City of Charleston.  But the elderly man the bridge is named after - now 88 years old- is, himself, controversial.  There was an effort to rename the bridge earlier this year, which failed. 

Taken March, 2015, by AM, before the defacement

This Civil War Confederate Monument in Charleston was defaced several days ago. (I totally reject this kind of activity, be it a Union or Confederate monument.) Debate now is taking place about whether these monuments should be taken down.

This is a Virginia Sons of Confederate Veterans license place (picture taken by me at a Civil War reenactment I attended). A Confederate battle flag design is on the left side.    This specialty plate, it appears, will no longer be permitted.

Some former Confederate states had incorporated Confederate flag designs in their state flags. They are now rethinking it.  Could this be because the shooter was photographed burning an American flag, and holding Confederate flags?  But, although the Confederate flag is publically debated, it must also be noted that there are thousands of streets, parks, and other public places named after Confederate figures - one, in particular, stirring controversy, due to what he did after the war.

The families of those murdered, the people of Charleston, and people of the South, have some hard days coming as they must work out the direction their future will take. 

A Somber Thursday

One week ago today, I woke up, did exercises, made my lunch, got dressed, and turned on my computer.  Seeing that "Charleston shooting" was trending, I clicked on the link and was plunged into a moment which has lasted all of this week.

But I am so far removed from the reality that has touched the lives of an entire community in Charleston, South Carolina, a city that I dearly love yet have never lived in.

I don't know anyone directly affected.

I have no family in Charleston.

Yet, day after day, I have seen events and have wondered:  will our country finally have the courage to face truths that haven't truly been faced in 150 years?  Even people who have little understanding of our Civil War are taking sides in this seeking and reacting that is taking place before our eyes.  Events and opinions change by the hour.  It would be something difficult to describe to my foreign readers.  I hope they will bear with me in the coming days.

All I can do right now is watch the news as so many of us struggle to understand. (I hope to blog more about this on Sunday.) 

I don't often publish my personal opinions on my blog.  I am a teller of history stories. I don't want to have opinion distract from the history stories I am trying to tell.

I don't have a direct link to the U.S. Civil War.  Both sides of my family emigrated to the United States in the early 20th century, years after the Civil War was over.  No one in my family ever owned slaves or fought in that war on either side.

Yet I, a Northerner (native of New York City), lived parts of my life in three former (or maybe not so former?) Confederate states:  Florida, Arkansas, and Texas.  I've visited both South Carolina and Georgia several times in recent years (along with North Carolina, still another former Confederate state).

In fact, I visited both Columbia, South Carolina (the city so in the news for the Confederate flag still flying on the capital grounds while a murdered state legislator of color lies in state in the building where he served - a building my spouse and I toured in March) and Charleston.  In March, my spouse and  I walked on the college campus where one of the murdered women worked.  For all I know, I passed her on the street.

While in South Carolina this past March (Columbia, Camden and Charleston), my spouse and I discussed the Civil War with several residents.  I was shaped by my upbringing and these South Carolinians by theirs.  Listening is not the same as agreeing.

Sadly, events have proved me right.  The Civil War is still being fought.  But for now, it is time to remember the dead and honor them.

Let us pause and remember the murdered, as the funerals begin. 

On Sunday, I will blog more about this in my Civil War Sunday post.  Maybe it will be just a photo collage of the city I have grown to love over four visits in five years, including some places recently in the news. 

As the saying goes, we live in interesting times.