Tag: Washington & Lee University

“Massive Resistance” Generation Responds to the Committee

by Kevin Levin 26

Washington & LeeI have absolutely no problem with students and alumni at Washington & Lee University expressing disagreement with the school’s decision regarding the display of Confederate flags in Lee Chapel. After all, it’s their school. I expressed concerns about the Committee’s list of demands early on so I am certainly sympathetic to both sides. But there is something disturbing about the two alumni letters published in the most recent issue of the school’s magazine, both of who graduated during the civil rights era.

Both letters frame this dispute as if the black law students who made their concerns public don’t really belong at the school.

Only the Committee threatens students and the University should they not buckle down to embrace the Committee’s terms.

I am sorry but this group of students cannot threaten the student body because they are a part of it. It is their school. It is their right as students to voice their concerns when they perceive an injustice or other problem that deserves attention. And if “the concerns of these students should [not] be taken seriously” than whose should be taken seriously and under what conditions? Continue reading →

Is a Dialogue Possible With the SCV’s New Chief of Heritage Operations?

by Kevin Levin 24

Brooks Simpson is optimistic that a dialogue is possible with the SCV’s new chief of heritage operations. I fully support whatever extent Brooks and Mr. Jones are able to engage in a civil conversation about those issues related to Civil War memory that continue to divide Americans. That said, I think it is safe to say that however civil and productive the conversation turns out to be we should remember that Jones will not be speaking for the SCV. Continue reading →

Living Up to Robert E. Lee’s Code of Honor

by Kevin Levin 13

Update #2: Here is the latest. The university issued the following statement: “According to our Office of Public Safety, our officers reported four occasions when they interacted with individuals who were participating in the July 26 rally sponsored by the Sons of Confederate Veterans in downtown Lexington. The officers characterized all of these interactions as respectful. They did not record names or ages of any of the individuals.”

Update: Local news is looking into this incident and supposedly talked to the child in question. I leave it to you to decide whether the voice on the tape sounds like a 15-year old. Even if it is we still have no names, no faces… basically no real evidence.

Southern heritage advocates such as the Virginia Flaggers and Sons of Confederate Veterans love to talk about and claim to live by a Southern code of honor that I assume includes integrity and honesty. Yesterday a post appeared on the Facebook page of the Virginia Flaggers accusing “the Police” of harassing a 15-year old boy who merely wanted to visit the Lee Chapel on the campus of Washington and Lee University. It has since appeared on a number of websites. Continue reading →

How Far Will the Virginia Flaggers Go For Attention?

by Kevin Levin 30

Update #2: Here is the latest. The university issued the following statement: “According to our Office of Public Safety, our officers reported four occasions when they interacted with individuals who were participating in the July 26 rally sponsored by the Sons of Confederate Veterans in downtown Lexington. The officers characterized all of these interactions as respectful. They did not record names or ages of any of the individuals.”

Update: Brandon Dorsey and the Stonewall Brigade (SCV) is now demanding that W&L apologize to the individual who was supposedly harassed by police on campus this past Saturday. Not a shred of evidence has been presented substantiating the accusation.

I’ve already said that yesterday’s protest in Lexington, Virginia over the removal of replica Confederate flags will likely lead nowhere. The Virginia Flaggers know this which is why they have now gone to great lengths to stage another conflict to garner sympathy for their cause.  Continue reading →

What the Protest at Washington & Lee University is Really About

by Kevin Levin 3

Yes, the people who gathered in Lexington, Virginia are incensed about the removal of replica Confederate flags from Lee Chapel. They view it as a threat to their preferred narrative of the history of the Confederacy and the symbolism of the flag both during and after the war. The fact that the replicas will be replaced by original flags appears to have been lost by just about everyone. It suggests to me that this is not entirely about the removal of flags, but about who instigated it.  Continue reading →