Museum Of The Confederacy (Siegel/Givens)

Good day, sir,
 
I was assaulted by a visual image of a drag queen wearing an Army of Tennessee Battle Flag this morning.  Apparently it came from the Museum of the Confederacy’s lobby.
 
This is on the heels of the outrage that  I am told that the  local government would not allow the Museum to fly a Confederate Battle Flag outside of the Museum.
 
I wrote last week seeking clarification on this, but still no reply.
 
This is all very upsetting.
 
I hope you will look into all this and bring some historical accuracy to this enterprise.
 
Lunelle Siegel
Tampa, FL
 
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Follows is the alert I received from CIC Michael Givens this morning on the matter:
 
This morning I sent the following email to a few local leaders in the Appomattox community, including the Honourable Mayor Paul Harvey, the Honourable Chairman of the Appomattox County Board of Supervisors, Jerry Small, the Clerk of Council, Ms. Roxanne Paulette, the info address and copied it to the Honourable Sam Carter, representative to the Courthhouse District on the Board of Supervisors, Appomattox County. If you would like to contact them and kindly express your concerns as well, their addresses are:

Roxanne W. Paulette, CMCClerk of Council
rpaulette@appomattoxva.gov

Mayor Paul Harvey (I had to guess at his address as it was not online)
pharvey@appomattoxva.gov
(434) 664-7955 (Cell)

Jerry Small, Chairman of Appomattox Co. Board of Supervisors
jerry.small@appomattoxcountyva.com

info@appomattoxva.gov
Phone: (434) 352-8268

I did not send the attached photo as they may not accept an email with an attachment dur to virus concerns.
 
Here is his letter:
 
Dear Mayor Harvey and Chairman Small,

I hope you are well. On the 23rd of this month I sent a letter, similar to this one to Supervisor Carter. I understand that he may have received a few more from some other concerned people. I regret that we have not yet received a reply, but still hold out hope for an acknowledgment of our concerns. Please be so kind as to read this letter as others may reference it.

I wish to make you both aware of some rather disturbing events that have taken place at the Museum of the Confederacy. I am the president of the Sons of Confederate Veterans. We have been around since 1896 and have around 31,000 members today. My organization has been keenly interested in the Museum of the Confederacy for as long as we have been in existence. In the past the museum has been a grand defender of the Southern plight to gain self-government and has been used to tell the story of our common ancestors.

Unfortunately, lately, and under the direction of Mr. Waite Rawls, the museum has taken a turn to the north. Recently Mr. Rawls attempted an effort to rid the museum’s name of the word "Confederacy." He received much resistance from the community and he reversed his efforts (for now). With the new museum in your backyard he is once again senselessly fanning the flames of discontent. It boggles the minds of many a Southerner as to why there is to be NO Confederate flag flying outside of The Museum of the Confederacy.

There is a great deal of angst over this situation and my membership, joined by many others, is incensed. I bring this matter to you today because I know of your love for your community and I hope we share a common bond with our noble past. I would like to see the Museum a success that would not only benefit the truthful history of our region but bring prosperity to your fair city. Two weeks ago, with this same motivation, I called Mr. Rawls to speak with him about these present concerns. We spent over three hours on the phone over the weekend. I know that many people will be determined to see a flag fly outside of the museum and many will make their feelings known by protesting outside of the museum. I pleaded with Mr. Rawls to take action to divert this otherwise unnecessary disruption. But he only gave me weak excuses of not even considering their requests. He told me that the office of the County Council would be "furious if he put a Confederate flag outside." He told me that the Mayor would be very upset, then he told me that his investors informed him that if he did anything controversial then they would withdraw their funds. With so many stories, I don’t know what to believe therefore I am to believe none of it.

Due to Mr. Rawls past views of the symbols of the Confederacy and his apparent agenda to pander to the politically-correct and the northern dollar, I lean toward the notion that it is Mr. Rawls and Mr. Rawls alone that wish for no Confederate flag to fly outside of the Museum of the Confederacy.

It has now been brought to my attention that Mr. Rawls has placed on exhibit a life-size poster of the famous transsexual Ru Paul wearing a costume made from a Confederate flag. While I suppose the use and misuse of the flag warrants discussion, yet is this a dignified way to begin the discussion? Is this not a further example of Mr. Rawls’ disdain for Southern Heritage promoters? The Confederate flag is not a joke to many people and we see this as another thumb in the eye. The harsh reality is that many human beings gave their very lives while fighting under this banner in the hopes of protecting their families from invasion. They also hoped to leave a future of self-government for their children, a government that is answerable and approachable to the people.

You are the leaders of your community and you most assuredly understand the value of local self-government. This is why we are appealing to you for help.

I could have helped resolve this problem long ago, but Mr. Rawls does not see fit to have the opinion of the largest and most respected heritage organization at their table to discuss matters so vitally important to us and our fellow Southerners.

I ask you today to help us change the mind of Mr. Rawls and let’s find an amenable solution. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call. I am most,

Respectfully yours,

Michael Givens
Commander-in-Chief
Sons of Confederate Veterans
(931) 442-1831
http://scv.org/

P. S. Please use the influence of your office to convince Mr. Rawls that his unilateral approach to local history is only dividing and insulting much of the community.