October 16, 2020
Dear Supervisor Gillespie,
At the beginning of this week I read about Lee County and their supervisors’ meeting, at which they heard from citizens who want to retain the Confederate monument at their courthouse. One speaker expressed her belief that slavery really was not that bad because most slave owners fed and clothed their slaves since they wanted to protect their investment.
When Johnny Morgan spoke in Oxford, he said he was not taught that slavery was a cause of the civil war. At the time, I was aghast and thought he was using sarcasm and a lie in an attempt to discredit those who want the monument removed. Now I suspect that he, the woman from Tupelo, and many others in Mississippi received a very, very poor education regarding our history.
Testimony like this indicates one of the reasons why Confederate monuments should be removed. We no longer should act as apologists for slavery, treason, the oppression and terrorizing of Black people during the Jim Crow years, and the desire for segregation. All of that is a part of our history that was evil.
Retaining monuments to Confederate soldiers and statesmen perpetuates the myth that there is a lighter, softer side to slavery, and the belief that Black people are not human and worthy of respect.
No one today would argue that a modern-day kidnapper who held a victim in a basement is somehow not so bad, simply because they provided food and clothing to their captive. It’s remarkable that we still tolerate this view amongst our citizens regarding Black people who were kidnapped, sold, enslaved, raped, and beaten in the old south. A war defending those atrocities was never just and it should not be honored with the monument on our town square.
I’m attaching a link to a short video. I hope you’ll watch it. It’s about history and monuments.
Why would we want to honor a part of our past that was shameful, with a monument that fails to tell the truth and instead perpetuates a lie? There are many things about us that we could be honoring. We have true heroes. We have noble dreams and hopes. Why do we choose to focus on the darkest part of our past and why would we want to retain a monument that tells a lie about the cause we fought for?
Please watch the video I’ve attached. Please be open to change and to listening to all of your constituents. Please take action on the side of truth and remove the monument that was erected to perpetuate the myth that the Confederate cause was just and noble.
I have no idea of your thoughts regarding this issue, other than what you voted. I’m hoping you do not want our children and grandchildren saddled with this division and these lies. I’m hoping you want future generations to be taught a fuller view of our history and the part that Oxford and Lafayette County citizens played in it. I hope you want the truth told for both our white and our Black citizens.
I know it’s not pleasant to face our past when it includes things we aren’t proud of, but I think it’s right to admit when we are wrong. I also think it’s important for our Black citizens that the truth of their ancestors’ experience is told clearly and truthfully.
Thank you for reading this and thank you for your work as one of our county supervisors.
Sincerely,
Caren Vitell, Oxford resident of 30 years
(This letter was originally sent as an email to Supervisor Gillespie on July 24, 2020)