NWA LETTERS

Bentonville protesters don’t know who they protest

After the riots in Virginia that in reality had nothing to do with the Civil War or, more correctly, the War between the States, demonstrators in Bentonville protested the statue of James H. Berry, a soldier in the Confederate Army. A video of the protest posted on Facebook showed the statue, including a plaque listing some of Berry’s accomplishments, the demonstrators expressing their views and some of the protest signs. I wonder if the demonstrators even read the plaque or took the time to research the history of the man they were protesting. His sin? He was born in and raised in states that joined the Confederacy and he joined the Confederate Army, therefore, in the eyes of the protesters, he must have been a bad man and his statue should be removed.

For a short period in his life he was in the military where he lost a leg, became a prisoner of the Union Army, finally paroled and then went on to serve Arkansas. How many of these protesters know his background and accomplishments? He was a state legislator, governor of the state, U.S. senator, circuit court judge (covered eight counties). He guided the state Legislature to call a constitutional convention marking the end of Reconstruction in Arkansas. He was a teacher, a lawyer, believed in equal justice and protection for all citizens whatever their race or color, sent in state militia to stop a mob from lynching African-Americans, believed in states rights, and also served on the Arkansas History Commission.

The demonstrators in the video carried signs saying “Stop pretending your racism is patriotic,” “Don’t Normalize Hate, Teach Peace,” and had very young children holding signs reading “Black Lives Matter” and one in foreign languages that they probably couldn’t even read or understand. [They had] T-shirts saying “Stop the Hate” and “Unite Against Racism.” People chanting “take it down,” obviously not even knowing who the man on the statue was. One protester wants to change history. One wants her children to know we are all one United States of America. Another wants her children to grow up in a world not made ugly by hate. All this caused by one statue. I wonder if they know he is also buried in a local cemetery along with other Confederate and Union soldiers.

This is America, where we learn from our mistakes and make our country better learning from those mistakes. This is not a Communist or third-world county that rewrites its history to exclude its past. People who refuse to know their history will be doomed to repeat it.

BRENT MEYERS

Lowell

[email protected]

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