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SC LEGISLATIVE MANUAL STILL CONTAINS DEROGATORY DESCRIPTIONS OF RECONSTRUCTION-ERA OFFICIALS
More than 130 years after Reconstruction ended, South Carolina’s official Legislative Manual still refers to elected officials from the period with derogatory descriptions.
At the end of the 625 page manual is a list of all former governors, lieutenant governors, and speakers of the State House. Next to some names are parenthetical notations such as “appointed by” and “son of.”
A few others, however, received some not-so-nice descriptions.
Former Speakers Samuel J. Lee and R.B. Elliott, for example, are labeled “Negros” while Franklin J. Moses is referred to as a “Scalawag.” A trio of lieutenants governor were listed with similar notations.
The anti-Reconstruction references were recently discovered by the Aiken Standard, which contacted Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer’s office. Bauer is now asking that the labels be immediately removed from the state website and all future manuals.
But that may be easier said than done, according to House Clerk Charles Reid, who is in charge of compiling the book.
“It’s a historical document. We didn’t create it. It’s just there,” Reid said. “I don’t want to impose my judgment on something that is a historical record.”
Ironically, civil rights groups have long known of the listings. In fact, it even allowed them to identify Lee and Elliott so that murals of the two men could be hung in the Statehouse.
The only thing that needs to be removed would be Bauer.
That’s pretty shocking stuff. I don’t think removing those insulting references takes away from the importance of the information presented within the manual, therefore, it should come out.
Earl, we know all about your half-breed daughter and your ghetto ex-wife. It figures you couldn’t keep your mouth shut about this.
Wow. Earl. WTHeck have you done to bring on all these haters?
We really need to know.
No, really — we do.
Comment #3 needs to go. Personal attacks especially of a racist nature have no place, even on blogs.
Nope, I say leave it up.
My first wife was of African ancestry, we had a daughter together, and after our divorce, I raised her. I’ve never denied that, and a lot of y’all probably saw me dragging my daughter to lots of political events when she was younger. Including whoever has been after me on this website.
Whoever has decided to whack away at me is really insecure and has it in for me. Enlightening posts like this let us know what kind of jerks exist in the world.
Mab, I really don’t know. If the person would identify his or herself, them maybe I’d know whatever real or perceived offense I’d committed.
Adam, leave it up. I’m totally ok with it.
Earl, pay this low-brow knuckle-dragger no mind. We live in the nation of the offended. It takes little or no effort in most cases for somebody to get their butt on their shoulders these days. I would like to offer one tiny lil bit of advice to both the ‘poser #3′ (and yeah….I meant POSER) and the MAb….reach up and firmly grasp your left ear with your left hand. Repeat for right ear with your right hand. Give several good hard tugs. That ‘popping’ sound you hear will be your head coming back OUT of your anus. THERE! I hope you’re both truly offended. To ’sand hill’….sorry, I hadda take just one lil personal shot at these two. I couldn’t really endeavor to engage either of them in a battle of wits as it’s strictly against my principles to take unfair advantage of understaffed opponents.
mike–with the little m–
Why do you lump me in with #3 AND do weird things to my name?
I think you need to do some time in the Grumpy Chair.
An ironic thing about those references is that it was updated this year to include the parentheses around the descriptions. That means someone saw that they were there and didn’t do anything about it.
Interesting.
You guys can’t see the forest for the trees. RECONSTRUCTION brought SC these guys. You better pay more attention to the similarity of the word RESTRUCTURE, as envisioned by phony Sanford, than worry about how former officials are referred to.
thanks for pointing this out, Adam.
Did not see the term “carpetbagger”. What a shame. I do love the term scalawag though.