There have been mainly two beliefs about the Civil Wars ending, that it was the start of modern America and it was the second Revolution. Well it was both. The Southern states are known for their pride in the Confederacy and their history in the Civil War. Their pride so much in the Confederacy that they would parade Confederate Flags around that were as popular as 7/11’s in Southern California. The pride that Southerners have in their history and town may seem like a good thing right off the bat, but in turn, it cost a 19 year old his life. Michael Westerman graduated from Todd Central High School, and their mascot was the Rebels. Naturally, with a mascot that’s a Rebel, you can assume the Confederate Flag will be included into it. A truckload of African-American teenagers chased the car all the way to the Kentucky-Tennessee border and fired shots into the red Confederate clad car.
The Ku Klux Klan and the Badass Black Brothers are racially heated groups that will stop at nothing to achieve what they want. Most known, the KKK has a few sister groups if you will, the Red Shirts and the White League. These were predominantly around in the later 1800’s and were basically mini-militia that would take care of people that were in the way for the better of the Confederacy, you could say. The KKK even goes as far to have their own website to talk about their goals, articles on “Jews Favored in Russia”, a Twitter you can follow them on, and a poorly constructed ceramic glazed figurine of a Klansmen ‘heiling Hitler’ which is available for purchase.
Segregation is more commonly linked to the 1960’s and overcoming. That’s not the case for this story. “…Redbone himself, a ruddy-bearded man, stood behind the bar wearing a polka-dot cap and a T-shirt adorned with a swastika. He served me a beer, then turned to chat with a man whose shirtfront proclaimed, "I've Got a N****r in my Family Tree." The back of the shirt showed a lynching - a black man dangling from a branch.” (Dying for Dixie, 89) Clearly there’s still some hostility toward African-Americans. This quote was published in “Dying for Dixie” by Tony Horwitz in 1995, when Horwitz, journalist, was researching the death of M. Westerman in his hometown of Todd County, Kentucky. Many white Southerners liked to consider themselves a “Redneck”, much like Michael Westerman, who had a “Redneck Ride” decal on his Chevy, which was accompanied by the Confederate Flag waving in the Kentucky wind.
There is a multitude of hate-crimes that occur everyday. There were people who got beaten because they didn’t support Prop 8, which was trying to finalize that gays and lesbians could not be wed, but could only participate in a “civil union”. There was a racially heated hate crime that happened within a few weeks ago of a black fisherman, because a trio of white males didn’t like the color of his skin. They however did mention that if the color of his skin had been white, the fight would not have been provoked. It seems we have come so far, at least with technology and you would think with segregation and racism since Barack Obama is clearly not white. It’s disheartening to see how children are raised now with a pure hate for other races, to think that other people should be below them, and still working for them—with the new technological age, it’s getting easier and easier to find things out on the internet, and find places where the KKK is meeting, they’ve even got their own website! It’s too easy to gain access to these things.
How is the war over if there is still a shooting war happening? It apparently doesn’t count if there’s no publicity while it’s being fought. The end of the Civil War marked nothing but the end of a chapter in history books. It started a Revolution, it modernized America, Mr. Westerman, Michael’s dad was quoted saying, “They say that war ended a long time ago. But around here it's like it's still going on.” (Dying for Dixie, 124) Michael Westerman was shot to death on January 14, 1995 with his wife Hannah Westerman driving to their first date since their twin daughters births 5 weeks prior.
1. "Metro Briefs - Washington Times." Washington Times - Politics, Breaking News, US and World News. Ed. Washington Times. Web. 02 Oct. 2009.
2. Horwitz, Tony. Dying for Dixie. Confederates In The Attic. Pantheon, 1998. Print.
3. "The Knights Party." What is White Christian Revival. Web. 02 Oct. 2009.
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