Furman University/Va Hospital
From: hk.edgerton@gmail.com
As my dear friend Ken Bachand made ready to fire the cannons at Fort Sumter on April 12, 2011 to mark the Sesquicentennial of the War Between the States, I made ready to present a speech at the invitation of a conservative student ( CSBT ) group of Furman University, under the leadership of a very fine young man, the Honorable William McNutt IV.
I suppose the Furman NAACP did not get the memo not to bother me. They were out in full force passing out a paper titled "We want the Truth. The paper showed statistics of Black and White men who were lynched from
the period 1882 – 1968, and had the Confederate Battle flag prominently displayed on the cover along with pictures of Black men hanging from a tree. However, the room became very silent when I passed around a paper of my very own, " a copy of the official arm of the NAACP, the Crisis magazine". Under one of the articles in the 1921 July issue titled the Higher Training of Negroes was posted the Swastika, and just I happen to have other issues of the same, but felt no need to bring them out. My mama always said that the pot can’t call the kettle black . Mr. McNutt would tell me several days after my visit , that I had left the Campus in an uproar .
It appears that the Furman NAACP had gone on a smear campaign over my visit and credentials to make it. It matters not that a young Black female student who lost her honor and dignity as she began shouting
obscenities to me after I said that far too many black folks look down upon the Southern slave. The reception that I received and thanks for coming from those who packed the University Center would mark the success of my visit , and I hope they invite me again.
I would like to thank the Marion, Alabama Sons of Confederate Veterans Commander , the Honorable Gary Johnson and his wife, the Honorable Sons of Confederate Veterans Division Commander Bazz Childress of Kentucky, the Honorable Brag Bowling of the Virginia Sons, the Asheville Tribune Newspaper and it’s author of the Un-Civil War, the Honorable Mike Scruggs for their help in preparing me for this lecture. This lecture can be seen in it’s entirety on You Tube and on my website, www.southernheritage411.com
On Sunday afternoon, April 17, 2011, after having learned that a 92 American War Veteran, Mr. Perry A. Thrasher, who like most Americans were tuned into the events marking the Sesquicentennial, would place a Confederate Battle flag on his bedside table in honor of his ancestor who had honorabally serve the South , only to have it removed by an Administration representative because they had been informed that it was offensive to someone; I would post outside the Veterans Administration Hospital in Oteen, N.C. my Southern cross for 6 hours. I only hope to raise the funds to make my way to Memphis not only to post the Battle flag, but to also put my arms around Mr. thrasher, wipe away the tears that continue to flow from his aged eyes, and to tell him that all will be well.
HK Edgerton
