Jackson Free Press

A couple of weeks ago, Raymond celebrated the 150th anniversary of the Vicksburg campaign by re-enacting three civil war battles on the actual battlefields where they took place 150 years ago. Men were dressed as Civil War soldiers, acting out those bloody and violent events that were fought in an attempt to keep black people as slaves. You know, good family entertainment!

Today, I'm hearing rumors about riots at Ole Miss after the official presidential election results came in declaring President Obama the winner. As the day progresses, some are now saying it was just a protest in which racial slurs were shouted about the president and African Americans in general and a few fights broke out' not really a "riot."

Now, I'm thinking, maybe this wasn't a real riot or even a protest at Ole Miss. I know those folks have a love for a certain Confederate flag and colonel mascot. I also know that 50 years ago, in 1962, there were riots at Ole Miss when James Meredith became the first black student. So, perhaps, this was just a 50-year anniversary celebration reenactment of the violent and racist days of Mississippi's past when segregationists fought to keep black students out of their school--as the Civil War reenactments celebrate the violent and racist history of the South.

That's the only thing that makes sense, because we have moved on from our horrible history of hate and violence against African Americans in this state. 

Right?