This week, The New York Times reported on a series of upcoming
events that will mark the 150th anniversary of the Civil War.
Many of these events, which will include parades, memorials, "a
mock swearing-in of Jefferson Davis as president of the
Confederacy," and at least one formal ball, will take place in
former Confederate states, and seemingly plan to depict the
South's secession as a victory for states' rights over intrusive
government. It's a narrative that downplays the role of slavery
in the Civil War--something similar happened in April, when the
governor of Virginia declared "Confederate History Month"
without mentioning slavery in his initial statement--and as the
South gears up for its sesquicentennial celebration, old
concerns about how to appropriately memorialize the Civil War
have risen once again. - More Historical Whitewashing The Times
quotes a number of dismayed citizens, including Lonnie Randolph,
president of the South Carolina NAACP, who says that the
commemorative events feature a lot o