The Black Informant | African American Commentary, News and Community Building

Interesting article. I’d read about this in the past and always found it an interesting factoid that is downright ignored. But thanks for putting it out there.

Believe It or Not

H. K. Edgerton, from Asheville, North Carolina, ardently defends the Confederate battle flag and his “southern heritage.” He sings Dixie in public and proudly dons a Confederate Army uniform to further illustrate his dedication. What is so newsworthy about this? Mr. Edgerton is African American! I thought I was reading a sick April Fools joke until I realized we had another month to go. Ironically, Mr. Edgerton was the former president of the Asheville Chapter of the NAACP. Hmmm, I wonder why he’s no longer President? He is now chairman of the board of an organization founded “for the specific purpose of aiding persons whose constitutional and civil rights have been violated in connection with their Southern heritage.” To demonstrate his “love of his southern heritage,” H.K. and his brother walked over 1600 miles from North Carolina to Austin, to deliver a letter to the President, protesting the removal of two Confederate plaques from the Statehouse. Shouldn’t H. K and his brother have headed north to Washington, instead of west to Austin to deliver a letter to the President? And why are they delivering a letter to the President concerning a Texas issue?

In his letter, he requested a meeting with Bush to “discuss ways of achieving cultural justice for all Southerners, who find themselves the victims of the only prejudice and discrimination still allowed in America.” He complained that white school children felt, “intimidated if they wear clothing depicting a flag that former President Carter called a legitimate American icon.”

Mr. Edgerton’s views on slavery aren’t exactly mainstream either. When talking about his family he remarked, “I’m glad my great-great grandmama Hattie didn’t get left behind [in Africa], that she found her way into the southland.” Mr. Edgerton also believes, “Most of the black folks didn’t even want emancipation around here. Because they looked around and saw how the free black folks were living, and you know they looked and said, ‘There’s some poor folks over there. I don’t want that.” The Black Informant has more on Black Confederates.

was not attempting to schew your page, used some html, you can delete, probably not important anyway.

This is absolutely abhorrent! Southern pride? Don’t make me laugh! Those uncle Tom’s defended slavery and you laud them for it? Atrocious

[...] ============== I wrote about black Americans involvement and support of the Confederacy: Did black Americans actually fight for the confederacy? [...]

The ignorance of the american public on any of its historcal past is absoultly amazing. If most of us took the time to study history through and through then i think we’d find that Edgerton is pretty accurate. Im a twenty-three from Georgia and also had relitves in slavery and i support the equilty of history that Edgerton is promoting

Now who ever the hell posted the thiing up there that refered to us as Uncle Tom’s ain’t only ignorant bout us but also ignorant bout them selves Uncle Tom was the poor old black fellar in that damned yankee propganda piece uncle tom’s cabin Uncle Tom was a Slave not a white southerner retard and by the way I am proud of H.K. cause he stands up for what he believes and knows is right and besides we ain’t racist I am a proud pro-confederate southerner and by the by my girlfriend whom i plan to marry just so happens to be black.

You see how the NAACP treats people who truly want equality for all races. I had someone tell me the colored in NAACP stands for all races…is that why they have done nothing for American indians except jump on the band wagon already started by American Indian Organizations? Is that why American Indians are the only ones in America that still have to register themselves to get any help through the government? Native Americans deal with the federal government through two agencies: the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Indian Health Service, the NAACP has never helped with this process. It also makes it worse when it is widely known most American Indians can not register because their ancestors did not register because of persecution after registering. Also why does the NAACP accuse the Jewish community of not reinvesting into the black community when they haven’t done anything for the Jewish community in decades? Culture is culture and the NAACP does not care about any one elses culture but their own. They are the largest group of racists in the US and that is why I would never support them or become a member.

Uncle Banana…you’re a racist.

At Camp Douglas there is a black Confederate sergeant buried, along with the other POWs who died while being held there (of all races). There’s a black funeral parlor owner I met up there in about 1994 that flies the Southern Cross in front of his funeral home every day — wonderful man, I met him when I was up there for a Confederate POW Society meeting.

I fly the 3rd National Confederate flag on the front of my vehicle and I constantly get hassled for it. It’ll never come off either. Anyone who reads history and actually takes the time to look at the date on The Emancipation Proclamation v/s the start of the un-civil war should be able to realize that slavery had nothing to do with the war. I have met black men and women at League of the South meetings as well as SCV re-enacments who are proud of that flag. And I must say that it’s nice to see and meet persons who are capable of turning off the tv and studying up on our history and southern heritage. More people should do just that.

Yes they did for various reasons, mostly because they had been told by slave owners and minor bureaucrats that by fighting for the Confederate states they would be legally freed after the war concluded. This, much like the decree of grants of “40 acres and a mule”. Both never materialized. The brother above with the flag behind him….well…I guess he is a southern who viewed (quite objectively) the aggression of the North as an attack on the “manhood” of the Southern protectorate.

African-American history is really the most fascinating (yes, I’m bias history and story of the Americas. Please learn more, read more and think more critically about it. Also, learn as much as you can about the incredible richness of Afr-Am culture. It’s much more then (not to say these are “justs” but it is in addition to) music, sports, and political figures.

It’s interesting- as a Canadian, they always taught us that the Civil War was started over states rights, and not slavery; but, I never heard about black confederates.

It amazes me how the North rewrote so much history to make themselves look more victorious.

Thank you so much for posting this. I’m presently working on a civil war novel and tripped over your blog while following a research link.

I thought you might find my new book interesting?

BLACK CONFEDERATES IN THE U.S. CIVIL WAR

A COMPILED LIST OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN’S WHO SERVED THE CONFEDERACY

This book contains over 5,000 names of Blacks who served the Confederacy. Includes bibliographical references. San Antonio, Texas 2008, 1st Ed., 8&1/2 x 11, 173 Pgs,

For more info see my site:

http://www.americanheritagebookshop.com

For the largest compilation regarding the service of Black and other non-white Confederate soldiers please visit with us at http://37thtexas.org – over 100 pages.

No propaganda, no “flag defense,” just historical research and documentation.

I refuse to believe this until I actually see an authentic photo of a Negro in a rebel uniform.

The truth is sometimes hard to swallow. There were many Creoles who fougt for the south. There were many freed blacks living in the south as well. PC has not allowed this to be shown, but it is true. here is the link with pictures, but I am sure you will find some lie in it no matter what…Did you also know that there were five Confedrate black soldiers caputered at Gettysburg? http://www.petersburgexpress.com/GettysburgLetter.html

Yeah, tell me how the Rebels/Confederates was so racist when six different nationality/cultures fought in it. Respected each other as brothers.