An interesting alternative to "Cancel Culture"
[quote]The (University of Alabama) board of trustees announced Thursday that a campus building called Graves Hall would be renamed to honor Lucy Foster, (the first Black student admitted to the University). But beside her name, the name "Graves" will also remain, honoring former Alabama Gov. Bibb Graves, who was once a Ku Klux Klan officer.[/quote]
The political and media focus predictably is on Graves' KKK membership, but he and fellow Alabaman U.S. Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black were considered opportunists who courted the KKK's rising political clout rather than ideologists. He actually was one of the biggest supporters of FDR's New Deal policies and considered the most progressive governor Alabama has ever had. It appears to be an attempt to find a middle course in the Culture Wars, recognizing both that past segregationist efforts were bad (Lucy Foster's name) and that not all of those caught up in the systemic politics of the times were inherently evil (Graves' name). An interesting approach. Not sure it works, or how I feel about it. But appreciate that some appear to be trying to bridge reconciliation rather than another century of culture war.
The political and media focus predictably is on Graves' KKK membership, but he and fellow Alabaman U.S. Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black were considered opportunists who courted the KKK's rising political clout rather than ideologists. He actually was one of the biggest supporters of FDR's New Deal policies and considered the most progressive governor Alabama has ever had. It appears to be an attempt to find a middle course in the Culture Wars, recognizing both that past segregationist efforts were bad (Lucy Foster's name) and that not all of those caught up in the systemic politics of the times were inherently evil (Graves' name). An interesting approach. Not sure it works, or how I feel about it. But appreciate that some appear to be trying to bridge reconciliation rather than another century of culture war.
80-89, M
