Confederate concerns: It’s not just the monuments, it’s the holidays

Even though it was vanquished in the Civil War more than 150 years ago, the "Lost Cause" is still celebrated a few times each year during Florida legal holidays.

The Florida statute listing its recognized legal holidays includes nods to the Confederacy and its figures, like the birthday of General Robert E. Lee on January 19 and Confederate Memorial Day on April 26.  June 5, the birthday of Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederate States, also is held as a holiday under the statute.

But in the wake of the outbreak of violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, and controversy over President Trump's reluctance to condemn white nationalists and neo-nazis, there are once again renewed calls to reevaluate public tributes to the Confederacy such monuments and holidays.

Gubernatorial hopeful Andrew Gillum issued a call Wednesday for the removal of Confederate monuments on state grounds. Now, he's lending his voice in hopes he and others can get the attention of the legislators to reconsider the legal holidays as well.

"We're not going to rewrite history, but we can and should work together to build a better, more just future for every Floridian - which means critically examining the remnants of the Confederacy on our public lands and in our laws," the Tallahassee mayor wrote. 

"I'd certainly support our state legislators bringing this issue up in January during the Session."

Rep. Ramon Alexander, D-Tallahassee, also hopes to see action taken to scrub the state's legal holidays of mentions of the Confederacy. He called the holidays an "insult" to the sacrifices of his great-grandparents.

"We experienced a time in American history that was dark and gloomy when human beings were murdered, lynched and labeled three-fifths of a person. As we move forward as a country, any recognition or validation of those who took up a cause to oppress others, should not be recognized by the State of Florida," Alexander said. "Symbolism is powerful. And we have to determine what we value as Americans."

In 2016, the Southern Poverty Law Center published a list of all things named after or dedicated to the memory of the Confederacy. Aside from taking aim at the 718 monuments across the country, it blasted the six states that still recognize nine Confederate holidays.

While state offices remain open on most of these "holidays," Alabama goes a step further in honoring Davis' legacy, closing its state offices and courts on his birthday.

The politics of symbolism 50 years after the Civil Rights era makes for strange "holiday" pairings. Like Robert E. Lee, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was also born in January. Three states, Alabama and Arkansas and Mississippi celebrate both Lee and King on the same day.  

Kurt Piehler, associate professor of history at Florida State University, said the debate about holidays and monuments, given how much of the history is forgotten and misinterpreted, is not all negative.

"I am glad people are engaging with history and it’s a public conversation we should have about what these monuments mean,” said Piehler, director of FSU's Institute on World War II and the Human Experience. "The appropriate place for Confederate memorials is in cemeteries. German soldiers are memorialized in cemeteries. Reconciliation is difficult and it’s important.”