Virginia Drops ‘Confederacy’ From Remembrance

Virginia Gov. James S. Gilmore, under pressure from civil rights leaders who last year threatened a statewide tourism boycott, Tuesday scrapped a tradition of declaring April “Confederate History Month” in the commonwealth.

In a move that drew protests from descendants of Confederate soldiers, Gilmore designated April as the “Month for Remembrance of the Sacrifices and Honor of All Virginians Who Served in the Civil War.”

“I call upon our citizens to appreciate the sacrifices of all Virginians, regardless of what side they served, in a great conflict that changed our country forever and laid the foundation for the great nation we are today,” Gilmore said in the official proclamation handed down in Richmond.

In the wake of protests over last year’s proclamation, Gilmore met with leaders of the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People, along with Southern heritage groups, historians, business leaders and prominent black politicians.

A leader of the NAACP’s Virginia chapter last year threatened to make Virginia the second state targeted for a tourism boycott. The civil rights group has called for a boycott of South Carolina until a Confederate flag is removed from the statehouse grounds in Columbia.

Gilmore’s proclamation was seen as a defeat for members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, who have traditionally sought the annual Confederate History Month proclamation to honor their ancestors who fought for Southern independence.

“This is totally unacceptable,” said Henry Kidd, commander of the group’s Virginia division. “We are only out to honor family members, family members who served in the war.”

By dropping references to the Confederacy, Kidd said Gilmore is perpetuating the perception that his group is racist.

“It’s not true,” he said. “We have condemned the [Ku Klux] Klan, we have passed resolutions condemning racist groups.”

Virginia was a key Civil War battleground, with the capital of the Confederacy established in Richmond in April 1861. Major battles were fought in Manassas, Fredericksburg and Petersburg, the Confederacy’s Army of Northern Virginia surrendered at Appomattox Courthouse, and the last capital of the Confederacy fell in Danville in April 1865.