In 2017, it's a little strange
seeing this still going on.
Today is a controversial holiday in Alabama and Mississippi.
It's Confederate Memorial Day.
REPORTER:
the Confederate Memorial Day ceremony.
They laid a wreath at the Confederate memorial
on the capital grounds. Alabama and Mississippi
are the only states that formally recognize
Confederate Memorial Day as a state holiday.
Yo... Can I... Can I just say,
that is (bleep) up on so many levels.
No, first of all, first of all,
the Confederacy fought the Civil War to defend slavery.
Why would you honor that? Secondly,
what are black people supposed to do on this holiday?
If you're a black person in one of these states,
what are you supposed to do?
You're just sitting around like, "Man, this some (bleep).
"This some (bleep).
"So, uh, I either don't get the day off
"or I support slavery?
Man, I'll take the day off,
"but I'm watching B.E.T. the whole time.
The whole time, y'all."
Now, now, the reason that this has become a big story
across the South is because
it's not just about a holiday, right?
The South is littered with reminders of its racist part.
You got Confederate flags, uh, Jeff Sessions,
uh, and, of course... and, of course,
Jackson, Mississippi's infamous N-word arena. Yeah.
Home of the masses. And, uh, Confederate supporters
often acknowledge that many people see this holiday
and the flying of Confederate flag on state property
as offensive. They acknowledge that,
But, on the other hand, a lot of the Confederate supporters--
they just don't give a (bleep).
It is so wrong
for those folks with contemporary agendas
to try to tell us who we're supposed to remember
and how we're supposed to remember 'em.
These are our families, our people, our ancestors.
And they lived in their own times,
just like we live in ours.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
"Like we live in ours”?
No, no, no, no, no.
We are living in our own time.
You're the one dressed like you need to deliver some letters
for the pony express.
-(laughter and applause) -Very different.
Very different.
I never understand this argument, you know?
When people go, "Hey, back then,
"they didn't know what they were doing.
They didn't know what they were doing was racist.”
Well, first of all, yes, they did.
Uh, but even if they didn't,
you know that now.
So what's your excuse?
Why are you putting on the uniform?
It's like saying,
"You can't judge a baby for (bleep) in his pants.
"He didn't know better.
"And that's why today, in honor of that baby,
I (bleep) my pants.”
I know that some of today's southerners
genuinely, genuinely believe that honoring this past
doesn't necessarily honor white supremacy.
But it's a hard case to make when there are statues
that literally celebrate white supremacy.
And you know they were serious
because they chiseled it into the monument, people.
Nobody chisels on a whim.
It's not a drunk tweet.
No one's like, "Oh, man, last night I got so wasted,
and I chiseled 'white supremacy' into a monument.”
You have to take your time.
And you know what I've noticed, by the way,
is whenever the local news does a story
on Confederate monuments or holidays,
they always find people who are against it.
And those people
all have something very specific in common.
But not everyone is for this tradition.
People who object
have a very different point of view on the matter.
Where some see history that's worth saving,
others see icons of white supremacy.
"Some people support the monuments
while other people are black.
Back to you in the studio.”
(cheers and applause)
Listen, the whole story-- oh, oh, okay.
By the way, by the way,
uh, local governments are tearing down
some of the monuments, which is really good news.
But how the monuments are coming down
might be the best clue about exactly what kind of environment
all this discussion is happening in.
Because city officials are so afraid of the reaction
that they have to do it like this.
The intimidations and threats from people
who don't want these monuments down has been intense.
You may remember that the first contractor
alleged to have his car burned.
As NOPD officers stood guard,
a crew of workers wearing what looked like tactical gear
dismantled the Liberty Place monument.
That's right.
City officials are wearing body armor--
full body armor-- because they're afraid
that some radicals with extreme beliefs
might kill them.
I... I wish there was a word
to describe those kinds of people.
I mean, if they were brown, we'd call them terrorists,
but, I mean, they're white, so I mean...
What, "misguided patriots"?
I don't know.
All right, but, uh, where were we? Where were we?
Yes, yes, of course-- Confederate flag.
Confederate Memorial Day.
Remind me again why this
At the end of the day, these people who are simply,
you know, attending the Old South Ball,
and they get all decked out in the... in the...
in the-the hoop dresses, and, you know, it...
Look, it's a beautiful thing.
They're not trying to offend anybody.
They're simply trying to honor their heritage...
heritage and their history.
It's all part of our history.
Oh, it's all part of our history.
I get it. I've... Actually, I've got it.
I've got it. This is it.
If it's all part of your history,
then maybe you should include
So if you want to have the monument,
then you should have to have a slave next to it.
-(laughter) -Yeah, for context, right?
So, it would be like, "He was a Confederate general."
"Was also a racist mother(bleep)."
-(laughter) -History.
(applause)
And... and... and if that idea doesn't work for you,
here's another idea to help solve this issue.
Just take all your Civil War memorabilia
and do what Americans always do
with the losing side's merchandise-- send it to Africa.
-(laughter) -Yeah.
African kids already wear Atlanta Falcons
-Super Bowl champion T-shirts. -(laughter, groaning)
They'll have no problem
with Confederate States of America merchandise.
-Don't stress. -(laughter)
That way... that way you don't lose, right?
Americans can still observe the Confederate Memorial Day.
You'll just have to go to Africa to do it.
And I know what you're thinking.
You're like, "It may be unfair to have to travel
to a foreign continent across the Atlantic against your will."
-(laughter) -Now you're getting it.