Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, August 9, 1993 TAG: 9309100406
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOAN LOGAN BROOKS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
The level of political expediency openly displayed by the senators that day was amazing. Political correctness was the only winner at the end of that day, and our senators should be ashamed of themselves!
To offset the ignorance and prejudice shown during the debate in the Senate, the facts about the United Daughters of the Confederacy and their logo must be published.
The UDC is a nonprofit, nonpolitical lineage and heritage organization, founded in Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 10, 1894. Its organization was the natural outgrowth of the many localized groups of Southern women who organized and supported memorial, cemetery, monument and Confederate veterans and widows associations in their communities. Because of its connection with these previous organizations, the UDC is the oldest patriotic organization in the United States.
From the beginning, the objectives of the UDC have focused on benevolent, educational, historical, memorial and patriotic service. As stated in the charter of the organization, the UDC seeks to honor the memory of those who served and those who fell in the service of the Confederate States of America; to protect, preserve and mark the places made historic by Confederate valor; to collect and preserve the material for a truthful and accurate history of the War Between the States; to record the part taken by Southern women in patient endurance of hardships and patriotic devotion during the struggle and in their untiring efforts after the war during the reconstruction of the South; to fulfill the sacred duty of benevolence toward the survivors and those dependent upon them; to assist descendants of worthy Confederates in securing proper education; and to cherish the ties of friendship among members of the UDC.
Chapters in 30 states and the District of Columbia contribute to various funds that help support needy daughters of the Confederacy, who need not be UDC members to receive support.
In the area of educational projects, the UDC's many undergraduate and graduate scholarships are perhaps best known. Other educational projects include grants that assist in the publication of scholarly historical books, and academic achievement awards made annually at many U.S. colleges, universities and military academies.
The UDC annually sponsors essay contests open to all students. Books, pictures and artifacts are placed in libraries, schools and museums. Living history demonstrations are provided for schools, explaining many aspects of Southern life during 1861-65. The UDC Magazine, $10 for 11 issues annually, is given free to libraries, schools, veterans' hospitals, doctor's offices, and retirement and nursing homes. Letters to correct misinformation are written by UDC members to help educate the public and our government officials.
The historical work of the UDC is extremely varied, including restoration and display of historical artifacts, flags and monuments; placement of historical markers and monuments; publishing and distributing historical information; operation of museums and service as docents in museums; genealogical and scholarly research and publication; gathering information on Southern Crosses of Honor; and documentation of C.S.A. gravesites.
Photocopies of original unpublished diaries, letters, memoirs and maps of the war years are placed in the Caroline Meriwether Goodlett Library, located in the UDC Memorial Building, 328 North Boulevard in Richmond. Hundreds of books relating to war history and rosters are given to that same library annually by members and chapters. Authors, scholars, music composers, speakers and others who achieve notable goals of preservation and dissemination of accurate Confederate history are awarded the Jefferson Davis Historical Medal, the highest historical award made by the UDC.
Almost every UDC chapter holds a Memorial Day service in the springtime. In fact, it was Southern women who spontaneously originated Decoration Day in the spring of 1866. These women of the South, who had suffered so much during the war, showed no partiality; they decorated the graves of Confederate and Federal soldiers with flowers. In subsequent years, Memorial Day has been a time of rememberance by the UDC for all of America's war dead.
Other memorial projects include seeking out unmarked Confederate graves and marking them with headstones and iron or brass crosses; existing headstones are cleaned, repaired or replaced on Confederate graves; Real Daughters' and members' graves are marked with special UDC markers; Confederate cemeteries are cleaned, maintained and marked; an annual inspection of Confederate-related monuments and markers is conducted and vandalism is reported; new monuments and informative markers are placed; and donations are made for national projects such as the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island restorations.
The patriotic activities of the UDC include thousands of hours annually of volunteer work in Veterans Affairs hospitals; giving money and necessary items for distribution to veterans in VA hospitals or homes; sending entertainment and necessary items to U.S. soldiers and sailors serving around the world; recognition of veterans who are lineal descendants of Confederate veterans by the bestowal of Crosses of Military Service, National Defense Medals, Pioneer in Space Medals and Certificates of Appreciation. The Cross of Military Service is the highest patriotic award the UDC can give to a veteran.
Flags are given to schools and other sites where they are needed. Local community patriotic and memorial projects are supported. The UDC honors and supports the appropriate and respectful display of the U.S. and state flags as well as of the several Confederate flags.
Many chapters also participate in varied community programs that enrich the lives of all citizens, such as Adopt-A-Spot cleanup teams and literacy and library reading programs.
Does this litany of worthy projects activated and supported by UDC chapters sound like the organization is racially motivated? Of course not! The charge is absurd. Membership in the UDC is open to women over 16 years of age who are lineal or collateral descendants by blood of men and women who served honorably in the Army, Navy or Civil Service of the Confederate States of America or who gave material aid to the Confederate cause, provided authentic proof can be furnished. Competitions and awards are open to students regardless of their ethnic or racial background. Services are provided for present-day American armed forces and veterans without regard for their color, gender or heritage. Honor is given by the UDC to all of America's war dead.
Is the UDC ``celebrating slavery,'' as claimed by Moseley-Braun? Of course not! The roots of the War Between the States were extremely complex and encompassed political, economic, social, constitutional, patriotic and cultural issues and regional differences that dated back to the time the U.S. Constitution was written and earlier. To make the claim that the war was fought over any single issue such as slavery is simplistic and not historically accurate. One can gain some insight into the complexity of the issues leading to the War by reading The Land They Fought For; The Story of the South as the Confederacy 1832-1865 by Clifford Dowdey, published 1955 by Doubleday and company, Inc., Garden City, New York.
The UDC insignia was designed on Sept. 10, 1894, and has a First National Pattern flag of the Confederate States of America, commonly called the Stars and Bars, surrounded by a gold laurel wreath with the dates 61 65 on the bow tying the wreath. The initials UDC are enclosed in the wreath under the flag. The Stars and Bars was not and is not a ``symbol of oppression,'' as claimed by Moseley-Braun, any more than the U.S. flag, Old Glory, was and is.
We all know that symbols, whether a flag, the Christian cross or an X, everywhere and in all times have been and will continue to be distorted, misused and misrepresented by individuals and groups who seek to further their own agendas. However, this is one case where the Stars and Bars is used in a proper context, as the logo for a heritage organization that has a proper claim to its use given by the blood shed, hardships suffered and endurance shown by our ancestors during the War Between the States and reconstruction.
Considering the large expenditure of time, talents and resources UDC members have unselfishly given to their nation, their communities and to their beloved organization in the past 99 years, they deserve better treatment from their elected representatives in Congress and in state and local government all across the nation. Now is the time for all Americans who share Confederate heritage to speak up, stand firm, and act in defense of a valuable, vital and unique part of American history before it is lost or distorted beyond recognition.
\ Joan Logan Brooks, of Lynchburg, is president of the Virginia Division of the United Daughters of the Confederacy.
by CNB