Less than a decade after the end of the Civil War, Black newspapers had already recognized the need to inform their readership about the rising tide of Confederate commemoration. African-American journalists saw clearly that the way the Confederacy—and the repudiation of enslavement—would be remembered was an urgent topic for Black audiences.
In some of the earliest articles in our database, Black reporters simply delivered reports of commemoration without added opinions or descriptions of controversy, quite unlike the style of articles in later years.
In 1871, the New National Era republished a speech given by Father Abram Joseph Ryan at a fundraising picnic in Mobile, Alabama for a Confederate memorial. The speech had originally appeared in the Mobile Daily Register[1], but in their preamble, the Era author asserted that it was important for their audience “to know how far the avowed sentiments of Toombs,[2] Jeff. Davis, and others that think with them, are shared by the Southern people.”[3]
Reflecting the already regnant rhetoric of the “Lost Cause,” Ryan’s speech largely avoided explicit mention of slavery or race. He spoke only about the men in gray “brave enough to die for the principles they professed” and about hope for the “resurrection [of] our dear lost cause.”[4] While he never defined the “principles” these men fought for, he suggested that the fight was not over, telling the audience: “Let us keep our hearts unconquered, stand firm over the ruins of liberty, and the graves of our foes, and protest against any policy that would bid us neglect [the Confederates’] memories.”[5]
Perhaps because they assumed a certain amount of existing knowledge among their readership, the Era did not discuss Father Ryan’s political background in their preamble to the speech. They identified him as an “eloquent and popular Southern orator,” but neglected to mention his strong and vocal opposition to abolition, his writings on divinely ordained White Supremacy, or his beliefs that Black people were an inferior race defined by “stupidity and ignorance.” Ryan regularly publicized his racist convictions in his newspaper the Banner of the South (Atlanta, GA, 1868-1870) and lobbied against integration and voting rights for African-Americans.[6]
In 1883, the D.C. paper the Bee published an editorial criticizing Senator Wade Hampton’s speech at the unveiling of a confederate monument in the nation’s capital. Reportedly, Hampton, himself a Confederate veteran, declared, “We of the South were neither traitors nor rebels; nor was our war in any proper sense a rebellion. It was strictly a civil war growing out of conflicting interests.” He asked that “our former enemies do justice to the motives that inspired our conduct,” and asserted that the lost cause was not completely lost: “The sword never has decided and never will decide a question involving a great principle.”
The Bee called to question the glorification of the Confederacy’s enterprise:
Thirteen thousand colored men have been murdered in the South since the beginning of reconstruction, by order of the leader of the democratic party. For what cause were they murdered? Because the colored man has been made a citizen, and stood in the way of his former master.[7]
In this article, the Bee drew a direct line between a Confederate dedication ceremony and the movement to kill Reconstruction in the South.
In 1887, the Huntsville Gazette published an article about former Confederate President Jefferson Davis’ emotional reaction to seeing a Confederate flag at a parade without mention of the issue of slavery. When a group of Georgia Confederate veterans walked by him bearing the flag, he “kissed its historical folds” and “waved the colors over the heads of the crowds,” which reportedly caused much excitement.[8] Although the Gazette saw the event as newsworthy, they make no specific mention of the links between the flag and white supremacism.
Not all early articles about Confederate commemoration in Black papers were purely objective. In 1880, the Indianapolis Leader criticized the symbolism of the Confederate flag. Ahead of a state election, the Leader told its readers that soon “we of Indiana must decide between patriotism and treason, between the defenders of the Union under the Old flag and the ex-rebels and…conspirators under the Confederate flag.”[9]
While the attention that Confederate memorialization has gotten in recent years may feel unprecedented to modern audiences, early Black newspapers already recognized its noteworthiness.
In recognizing the power of monuments, there was a push for Black veterans to get a statue of their own. The Virginian paper the Lancet highlighted the plethora of Confederate monuments and the lack of those dedicated to Black soldiers.
The Southern whites…notwithstanding they were whipped, never ceased to raise the valor of their sacred dead, and to erect monuments in their honor. O! Ingratitude and shame upon the colored people of the United States, who show such little appreciation for the valor of negro [sic] soldiers who died for the preservation of the Union.
This criticism was reprinted in the Bee alongside an announcement that the Bethel Literary and Historical Society created a committee to spearhead the erection of such a monument in Washington DC… This society was an oratory and debate group consisting of prominent African-Americans, and was active from 1881 until the early 20th century.[10] The Bee wrote that the monument would be built by 1886.[11]
However, these plans never came to fruition. It would not be until 1998 that a monument to Black Union soldiers would be erected in the capital. The Spirit of Freedom was designed by Black sculptor Ed Hamilton and depicts Black infantry members, sailors, and the family members the soldiers left behind.[12] It exists as part of an African American Civil War Memorial Museum established in 1999.[13]
Olivia Haynie
Please cite as:
Haynie, Olivia. “Early Commentary on Confederate Commemoration.” False Image of History: Perspectives on Confederate Commemoration from the Black Press (online). Fall 2024 Edition. Schaefer, Donovan O., ed. URL = https://falseimage.pennds.org/essay/early-commentary-on-confederate-commemoration/.
References
African-American Civil War Memorial and Museum. “About the Museum.” Afroamcivilwar.org. Accessed July 26, 2024, https://afroamcivilwar.org/aacwm-history/.
D.C. Historic Sites. “Public Art Tour: Spirit of Freedom Memorial.” Historicsites.dcpreservation.org. Accessed July 26, 2024, https://historicsites.dcpreservation.org/items/show/1231.
Huntsville Gazette (AB). “Moved To Tears.” October 19, 1887.
Indianapolis Leader. “Tuesday.” October 9, 1880.
New National Era (Washington, D.C.). “Father Ryan on the Lost Cause.” July 13, 1871.
The Bee (Washington, D.C.). “Neither Traitors Nor Rebels.” June 30, 1883.
The Bee (Washington, D.C.). “The Colored Union Soldier.” April 28, 1883.
Wikipedia. “Abram Joseph Ryan.” Wikipedia.com. Accessed July 2, 2024, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abram_Joseph_Ryan#Editorials_related_to_African_Americans.
Wikipedia. “Bethel Literary and Historical Society.” Wikipedia.com. Accessed July 26, 2024, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bethel_Literary_and_Historical_Society.
Now known as the Press-Register. ↩︎
Robert Toombs, an American politician who helped form the Confederacy. ↩︎
New National Era (Washington, DC). “Father Ryan on the Lost Cause.” ↩︎
New National Era (Washington, DC). “Father Ryan on the Lost Cause.” ↩︎
New National Era (Washington, DC). “Father Ryan on the Lost Cause.” ↩︎
Wikipedia. “Abram Joseph Ryan.” ↩︎
Bee (Washington, DC). “Neither Traitors Nor Rebels.” ↩︎
Huntsville Gazette (AL). “Moved To Tears.” This article is not currently available online. ↩︎
Wikipedia. “Bethel Literary and Historical Society.” ↩︎
Bee (Washington, DC). “The Colored Soldier.” ↩︎
D.C. Historic Sites. “Public Art Tour: Spirit of Freedom Memorial.” ↩︎
African-American Civil War Memorial and Museum. “About the Museum.” ↩︎