Blacks and the Civil War

[CMWinkler]

Atlanta Forward
Blacks and the Civil War
9:41 am August 1, 2013, by Rick Badie

Moderated by Rick Badie

The Civil War remains a complex and controversial issue, not just in the South but the nation as a whole. One of today's guest writers wonders whether the struggle still matters in the 21st century. The other writer explains why the war resonates with so few African-Americans, yet challenges them to re-examine its rich history.

Re-examine the Civil War

By Natasha L. McPherson

Aside from a handful of professional historians, history buffs and perhaps a few fans of the movie "Glory," most African-Americans regard the Civil War with relative indifference. We pay our respects to black leaders of the era, and we may even examine the major political debates that once divided a nation. For most African-Americans, however, the Civil War was a series of events that played in the background while the black liberation struggle occupied the main stage.

This year, as Americans commemorate the 150th anniversary of major Civil War events including the Emancipation Proclamation and the Battle of Gettysburg, let us examine the complex relationship between African-Americans and the Civil War. The war was a pivotal moment in history that gave birth to modern democracy and led to the emancipation of enslaved blacks.

So why don't black folks care?

First, this wasn't our war. Many African-Americans fought and died on both sides of the conflict, but they were excluded from the decision-making process. Without political representation, African-Americans have come to regard the Civil War and its memory as the white people's burden. The black historical narrative places less emphasis on the Civil War itself and tends to highlight actions of African-Americans in response to the war. This seems practical, considering the modern African-American experience emerged directly from individual and collective actions of blacks during and after the Civil War.

For the rest: http://blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-forward/2013/08/01/the-civil-war/?cxntfid=blogs_atlanta_forward

 

[R. Evans]

Interesting articles, CM. Thanks for sharing them.

And it does surprise me that more black people don't take an interest in the ACW but Ms. McPherson lays out a pretty good explanation why they don't. When you're not part of the decision making process, you do tend to focus on other things. So much of what happened during the war was beyond their control. I would bet that if there was a poll taken among African-Americans giving choices of what was more important, the Civil War or the struggle in the 1960s for desegregation and full voting rights, that the 1960s would loom larger in their collective memory and be the more important of the two. And without a doubt, far more blacks know of Martin Luther King than they do of Frederick Douglass. Some of that's to be expected since we're only 50 years removed from one event and 150 from the other. Still, it does seem puzzling that more don't take much of an interest in the ACW.

As I said, good articles. Very thought provoking.

 

[JRebGA67]

I think many good points were made concerning why blacks are seemingly disinterested in the ACW. I would like to add to the list that the American public school system is partly to blame for this not just among the black community, but for the last 2 generations white, black, brown, etc. They no longer teach history, and what does pass for history isnt history at all, but rather a politically driven agenda.

 

[Mark F. Jenkins]

Just hypothesizing... part of the influence could be the reception of Civil War history in our culture... in the South, where "the War" frequently seems very recent, African-Americans may not want to talk or think about it; in the North, where it seems most like the war was ancient history, African-Americans aren't paying attention to it (nor are most non-African-Americans).

(This is generalizing on a huge scale, and members of our forum are proof that there are exceptions...)

 

[ole]

Wasn't our war?

 

[gem]

Wasn't our war?

The article is nonsense.

Blacks in the antebellum felt the war was about destroying slavery and was thus about them.

How blacks feel about the war today is irrelevant to who those who lived in the antebellum felt about it.

 

[CMWinkler]

The article is nonsense.

Blacks in the antebellum felt the war was about destroying slavery and was thus about them.

How blacks feel about the war today is irrelevant to who those who lived in the antebellum felt about it.

Interesting. Upon what do you base your opinion about what antebellum blacks thought?

 

[gem]

Interesting. Upon what do you base your opinion about what antebellum blacks thought?

Based on the response of blacks to the emancipation proclamation I think its fair to say that blacks very much saw that the war was about them.

Thus to say it was not our war makes no sense. Thus any of author's conclusions originate from a false premise and thus negate the voracity of the author's arguments rendering the article nonsense.

 

[R. Evans]

Gem, that's all well and good for the blacks back then. The 1st article was about how few blacks are interested in the ACW today. Which from personal experience rings true. They might have cared back then, but few seem to care today.

 

[gem]

Gem, that's all well and good for the blacks back then. The 1st article was about how few blacks are interested in the ACW today. Which from personal experience rings true. They might have cared back then, but few seem to care today.

The main thing I have issue with is the statement it wasn't our war which is ahistorical.

In terms of how blacks today feel about the civil war i'll admit the author may make some valid points.

 

[major bill]

The Civil War was 150 years ago and for some people this is ancient history. I do not see much interest in the Civil War regardless of ethnicity.

 

[Custers Luck]

well I can see why in some degrees there would not be alot of intrest. The blacks dont have all the family tree to go back on, because there familys were torn apart, they didnt have the photos of there family members or the fancy locket, with there great gandpa in it in uniform that was handed down, and they didnt have the letters that got passed down either, because they were not allowed to read or write, and what home? whos home? would they have sent it too any way. so in todays world I can see why, they dont have alot to draw on.