The Texas Tribune
April 14, 2015
One hundred and fifty years after the end of the Civil War, a 13-year-old boy caused an uproar at the Texas Capitol Tuesday as lawmakers considered his proposal to change a state holiday honoring Confederate heroes.
While the bill was introduced by Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, and has gathered bipartisan support, the impetus behind HB 1242 came from an unlikely messenger: Jacob Hale, a 13-year-old student from Austin who gave draft legislation to Howard last fall calling for Confederate Heroes Day to be replaced by Civil War Remembrance Day. The change, Hale said, would create a “more accurate symbol of our state's diverse history.”
“This is to move into an era that is more inclusive,” Howard told the House Committee on Culture, Tourism and Recreation.
But a long list of opponents stayed late into the afternoon to testify against Hale's suggestion, offering emotional accounts of their Confederate ancestors, noting Texas' overwhelming support for the South in the Civil War, and denouncing the bill as a politically motivated attempt to dilute and rewrite history.
In addition to changing its name, the legislation would shift the state holiday from Jan. 19 – Robert E. Lee's birthday – to the second Monday in May to avoid occasional conflicts with Martin Luther King Jr. Day. A companion bill, SB 870, has been filed by state Sen. Rodney ellis, D-Houston.
One hundred and fifty years after the end of the Civil War, a 13-year-old boy caused an uproar at the Texas Capitol Tuesday as lawmakers considered his proposal to change a state holiday honoring Confederate heroes.
While the bill was introduced by Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, and has gathered bipartisan support, the impetus behind HB 1242 came from an unlikely messenger: Jacob Hale, a 13-year-old student from Austin who gave draft legislation to Howard last fall calling for Confederate Heroes Day to be replaced by Civil War Remembrance Day. The change, Hale said, would create a “more accurate symbol of our state's diverse history.”
“This is to move into an era that is more inclusive,” Howard told the House Committee on Culture, Tourism and Recreation.
But a long list of opponents stayed late into the afternoon to testify against Hale's suggestion, offering emotional accounts of their Confederate ancestors, noting Texas' overwhelming support for the South in the Civil War, and denouncing the bill as a politically motivated attempt to dilute and rewrite history.
In addition to changing its name, the legislation would shift the state holiday from Jan. 19 – Robert E. Lee's birthday – to the second Monday in May to avoid occasional conflicts with Martin Luther King Jr. Day. A companion bill, SB 870, has been filed by state Sen. Rodney ellis, D-Houston.
To read the rest of the story, click on link: http://www.texastribune.org/2015/04/14/13-year-old-panel-change-confederate-heroes-day/
4 comments:
That poor child was used as a tool by the far left. It should be noted that the attempt failed.
It should be noted that young people will soon control the state as they become adults. Racist reminders of the past will soon be gone.
Confederate heros my ass. They never apologized. Where was the "I am sorry America for putting you through this idiotic war, it was my bad..." Never, not once. And here we are constantly accommodating them. It is so annoying to hear them go on and on about how great the south was.. How these people were only fighting for their beliefs.. BS they were fighting for $$$$, no one is going to march in the heat wearing a grey (wool) uniform for free. Let's be honest. No more, the confederacy was a bad idea, our nation is better for getting rid of it. The confederate symbolism is divisive, it's a distraction, it's an ugly flag enough said let's move on.
There would have been no war were it not for Lincoln and the fat cats up north who needed what the Southern states could provide. 11 states decided to go their own way in peace, but Lincoln would have none of it and sent his army to invade the those 11 states and force them back into "the union". This and nothing else was the cause of the war. What caused those 11 states to leave, is an entirely different issue. The "Civil War" was Abraham Lincoln's war, and that should never be forgotten. 600,000+ dead on both sides and a million more wounded and maimed can be laid directly at the feet of Abraham Lincoln.
A few generations before the 13 Colonies decided to declare their independence from England and King George would have none of that either. He sent his army to prevent it just as Lincoln did generations later.
I continue to be amazed just how little history folks know about the 1861-65 period. Many have some kind of emotional reaction that is not based on facts. Folks can "feel" anyway they want, but don't display ignorance of the facts in the doing so.
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