Confederate “Heritage” Month 2024, April 21: Former Mississippi Democratic Gov. Ray Mabus on why celebrating Confederate “heritage” is disgusting

Ray Mabus, one of the few really good Governors Mississippi has had over the last century, explains why Republican Gov. Tate Reeves (Mississippi Dems also know him as “Tater Tot”) proclaiming an official Confederate Heritage Month again this year is a bad idea. (1)

Former Mississippi Gov. Ray Mabus on Saturday condemned Gov. Tate Reeves' decision to declare April as "Confederate Heritage Month" —- calling it "incredibly hurtful" and "dead solid wrong."

It celebrates "something that was truly awful: people trying to own other people," he added.

"First, I didn't do it when I was governor," Mabus told CNN in a video clip posted on Instagram by anchor Victor Blackwell. "And second, Confederate heritage? Really? The heritage that I think of with the Confederacy is slavery, is treason, and is losing. Which of those heritages are we really honoring here?"

Mabus, a Democrat who was Navy secretary under then-President Barack Obama, said the move was "part of the 'lost cause' narrative ... that came about a few years after the Civil War in an attempt to reassert white supremacy." (2)

Well said! It’s a real shame that something so obvious still needs to be said in 2024.

A more expansive quotation of what Mabus said about “Confederate heritage? Really?” here:

But it’s all part of that lost cause narrative, the ‘Moonlight and Magnolias’ that came about few years after the Civil War in an attempt to reassert white supremacy. It came hand-in-hand with Jim Crow. And, it worked for a long, long time. Statues were put up, this heritage notion. But what it does is incredibly hurtful, it is incredibly harmful, and it honors something that we should learn about, know about, but definitely, definitely not honor. (3) [my emphasis]

Mississippians are understandably concerned about the state so often winding up last among the 50 states in various measures of quality of life and economic prosperity. At the moment, the state also has the dubious distinction of being the “last” state in the past three years that official celebrates Confederate “Heritage” Month:

Mississippi is the only state that has dedicated a month to honoring the Confederacy in the last three years, although six other Southern states have done so historically. Mississippi will also recognize Confederate Memorial Day on April 27, as state law requires. But those seeking to protest against these policies will have a tough time: The Supreme Court just effectively abolished protests in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas. (4) [my emphasis]

Notes:

(1) Blackwell, Victor (2024): X (formally Twitter) 04/20/2024. https://x.com/VictorBlackwell/status/1781711591106297859 (Accessed: 04/21/2024).

(2) Golding, Bruce (2024): Former Mississippi Governor Blasts Proclamation of 'Confederate Heritage Month'. HNGN [Headlines and Global News] 04/20/2024. <https://www.hngn.com/articles/259838/20240420/mississippi-proclamation-confederate-heritage-month-governor-tate-reeves-ray-mabus-republican-democrat.htm> (Accessed: 04/21/2024).

(3) Bahney, Jennifer Bowers (2024): ‘Confederate Heritage? Really?’ Former Mississippi Gov Slams State’s Plan to ‘Celebrate’ Confederacy. Mediaite 04/20/2024. https://www.mediaite.com/politics/confederate-heritage-really-former-mississippi-gov-slams-states-plan-to-celebrate-confederate-heritage-month/> (Accessed: 04/21/2024).

(4) Rashid, Hafiz (2024): The Shocking April Holiday That Mississippi Is Still Celebrating. The New Republic 04/16/2024. https://newrepublic.com/post/180736/mississippi-confederate-heritage-month-still-thing> (Accessed: 04/21/2024).