Black Mayor Proclaims April ‘Confederate History Month’ in Tennessee Town

Mayor Curtis Hayes of Livingston, Tennessee signed a proclamation declaring April “Confederate History Month” in the city.

The Confederate States of America seceded from the United States in the early 1860s in order to perpetuate the enslavement of Black people, but subsequently it lost the Civil War.

On its Facebook page, the Overton County News links to a post on its website about the proclamation. The post features a photo of Hayes, who is Black, surrounded by men who are described as members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans.

A caption accompanying the photo reads,

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A contingent of compatriots with Sons of Confederate Veterans, Myers-Zollicoffer Camp 1990 recently met with Livingston City Mayor Curtis Hayes for the signing of a proclamation designating April 2022 as Confederate History Month in the Town of Livingston and urging all citizens to avail themselves of the opportunities to increase their knowledge of this important era of Tennessee’s history. On hand for Mayor Hayes’ signing are, from left, Norman Osburn, Michael Boswell, Junior Matthews, Bill Speck, Bill Heard, and Tommy Phillips.

No article accompanies the photo.

The Sons of Confederate Veterans website states that the organization “shall be strictly patriotic, historical, educational, fraternal, benevolent, non-political, non-racial and non-sectarian. The Sons of Confederate Veterans neither embraces, nor espouses acts or ideologies of racial and religious bigotry, and further, condemns the misuse of its sacred symbols and flags in the conduct of same.”

April is a popular choice for Confederate History Month, which only began in 1994. Various southern states have recognized it over the years. However, in April 2022 only Mississippi Republican Gov. Tate Reeves commemorated the Confederacy

Several states and municipalities have moved to take down statues of Confederate military leaders and remove Confederate flags from public buildings in recent years, though obviously the imagery persists in some places.