I see three generations of the Clyburn-Rice family in attendance for yesterday’s service in honor of the family matriarch, Mattie Clyburn Rice. It looks like a strong and loving family. Regardless of the nature of the relationship that the family has forged with descendants of Confederate soldiers, we should never forget that it was the defeat of the Confederacy that made Weary Clyburn free. It allowed him to build a family that no longer ran the risk of being forcibly separated.
In short, it was the defeat of the Confederacy that helped to make possible the family you see here.
That is all.
What it “ought” to mean is up to the family – not you.
I’m pretty sure Kevin understands that. His larger point, which remains entirely valid, is that to embrace the narrative of Weary Clyburn as celebrated this past weekend, one has to willfully ignore the historical record both of Clyburn himself, and the Confederacy in general. People should be free to believe what they choose to, but others should be free to argue that such beliefs are sometimes based on false assumptions or misunderstood evidence.
Indeed.