TUPELO • A local grassroots organization is calling for an end to state Confederate holidays.
Late Monday morning, Indivisible Northeast Mississippi members gathered in front of the Confederate monument at the old Lee County Courthouse on West Jefferson Street downtown. Members demonstrated in protest of Confederate Memorial Day, recognized on April 25, and April being recognized as Confederate Heritage Month in Mississippi.
“You have to ask yourself: OK what heritage is that? That heritage is one of white supremacy, the right to enslave human beings for economic gain,” said Mary Jane Meadows of Indivisible NEMS.
State law declares the last Monday of April — this year, on April 25 — as Confederate Memorial Day.
Gov. Tate Reeves also issued a proclamation earlier this month declaring April as Confederate Heritage Month. The Mississippi Free Press reported it was the third year in a row Reeves issued the proclamation, confirming this year’s signing through a Facebook post from a Sons of Confederate Veterans chapter.
Indivisible is advocating for amendments to applicable statutes to end state Confederate holidays. Members held signs and handed out sheets with the contact information for state elected officials.
Daniel Jenkins of Tupelo was protesting because, as an African American man in the state, he doesn’t subscribe to the Confederate observances. Jenkins sees it as an enduring symbol of systemic racism, and urged others to join the fight as well.
Celebrating Confederate holidays is contradictory after a recent series of moves away from Confederate symbols, said Jennifer Lindsey, an attorney in Tupelo.
The previous state flag, which featured a Confederate battle emblem, changed in 2020. In February, a statue of US senator Theodore Bilbo, known for his racist views, was moved out of public view from its previous location in the State Capitol. This month, Reeves signed a bill to replace “Go Mississippi,” a state song with racist roots.
“We changed the flag, but we hold on to things like this,” Lindsey said. “There is no memorial day or observance of slaves that died in bondage, yet we celebrate those who fought to keep such an institution alive.”
Indivisible is communicating with people across the state and urging them to call their representatives.
“We can change things anytime we want to,” Meadows said. “It requires that we come together and our strategy is to get as many people as possible to do a strategic action all at the same time because numbers matter.”
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April 26, 2022 at 03:49AM
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