Susan Hathaway of Sandston, Virginia has written an open letter to the Mayor and City Council of Selma, Alabama telling how disappointed she was when she arrived there and found the town almost completely void of any vestiges of its rich Confederate history.
She was shocked to find the Old Live Oak Cemetery "decaying from neglect" in her words. She said the Confederate monument in the cemetery was breathtaking, but that efforts by private citizens to make improvements to it, including handicap access had been blocked by the City Council.
In her letter she went on to say that she found it "ironic that a city that wants so much to present itself as the jewel of the civil rights movement, now openly discriminates against those of us with Confederate heritage." Ms. Hathaway also questioned why Selma had chosen to "disfranchise a large group of people, who otherwise might visit, bringing much needed revenue into the city."
I will say that the Montgomery, City and County, Chamber of Commerce and the State of Alabama, in my opinion, has done a great job of promoting both the Civil War and the Civil Rights Movements, and this has worked to the benefit of all, especially as our goal is to bring in the tourists and with them those important dollars that we must have to thrive and move forward!
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