“We Won That War and Never Let Them Forget It”

In 2011 I took part in a panel on the myth of the black Confederate soldier with Emmanuel Dabney, Ervin Jordan, and Jaime Martinez at the annual meeting of the ASALH in Richmond. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, but I did not attend the Carter G. Woodson luncheon featuring Daryl Michael Scott. The topic of his address – or should I say sermon – was the importance of remembering the service of black soldiers as “The Greatest Black Generation.”

Professor Scott kicks things off with an impassioned plea not to get upset about the sight of Confederate flags and other symbols of the Lost Cause. In the end:

The Confederate flag to me is nothing but a reminder that we won that war.

[Uploaded to Vimeo on March 1, 2014]

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9 comments… add one
  • Rob Baker Mar 7, 2014 @ 8:14

    I’m not sure how I feel about the “Greatest Black Generation” concept.

  • Brad Mar 3, 2014 @ 4:14

    There is a difference between forgive and forget. Although we do not forget what happened in WW II, we forgive the German people and move on. The sins of the WW II generation should not be visited upon the post WW II generation.

    • Rob Baker Mar 7, 2014 @ 8:13

      Did we really forgive the German people? I’m under the impression that we chose to forget in order to use their location in the Cold War atmosphere.

  • Steve Mar 2, 2014 @ 15:41

    We should also remind, the native Americans, Mexicans, British, Japanese, Germans, Koreans, Italians they also lost the wars to the U.S. ” we won that those wars and never let them forget it” Let us share that mentality!

    • Kevin Levin Mar 2, 2014 @ 15:43

      You are welcome to do so if you feel such a need.

      • London John Mar 3, 2014 @ 7:23

        I couldn’t be sure whether Steve was being sarcastic. Either way, he forgot the Spanish.

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