Brief Postscript to “My Sense of Place”

Ta Nehisi-Coates just shared an email he received from one of his readers.  An earlier post of his briefly referenced James McPherson’s Battle Cry of Freedom.  The email serves to remind us of just why we ought to resist the urge to reduce people to a one-dimensional notion of place of origin:

“Battle Cry of Freedom” was your first mistake. It was written by a yankee who grew up with yankee soldiers trying to justify their destruction, murder, rape and pillage of the South. Why not read the ACTUAL “Official Records” compiled by the US gov’t or listen to the actual BLACKS in the slave narratives of the 1930’s? Rather than re-hashed “stories” of biased information? Question WHY federal museums are required to tell “slavery first” at the entrance door yet – as in Gettysburg museum misquote Southerners?
Southerners – no matter the “color” support each other. You yanks and yankee sympathizers can’t stand that after 150 years we all still stand agaisnt your falsehoods.
In our goal to understand one another better we should strive to break down barriers rather than unnecessarily reinforce them.

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2 comments… add one
  • Dr. Sisco Nov 4, 2010 @ 3:48

    Yeah, I am sure Black Southerners really appreciated that support after 1877 and the long terror of lynchings.

  • Bob Huddleston Nov 1, 2010 @ 19:40

    “It was written by a yankee who grew up with yankee soldier ” I did not realize that McPherson was that old…. :>)

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