Lawmaker seeks to eliminate state Confederate holiday

State Rep. Donna Howard is about to learn the meaning of the term "rebel yell."

In fact, the Austin Democrat can expect to hear more than that in response to her bill to replace Texas' Confederate Heroes Day with a springtime Civil War Remembrance Day to honor all who fought in the Civil War. That's all as in, both the Confederate and Union sides.

"We have quite a few holidays throughout the year that are either national holidays or are days of recognition," Howard said. "I think there are so many that certain things get lost in the shuffle."

This year, for instance, Confederate Heroes Day shared its traditional Jan. 19 commemoration with the national Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

"We obviously want to make sure we're not disrespectful to anyone here," Howard said. "But the unfortunate combination of those two dates, for one thing, means that you don't even have any kind of recognition of Confederate heroes because of the national recognition of MLK. There is also no way to discuss the Civil War without talking about slavery. It seems to be an unfortunate coincidence."

Reta Brand, director of the Texas Society Order of Confederate Rose, was not moved.

"I am very unhappy," Brand said. "Everybody is trying to take everything away from the Confederacy. It was a vital part of Texas during that time period. Taking away the Confederate Heroes Day is totally unacceptable. All of these men that it is in honor of ... they were heroes in their own right."

Howard said she decided to write the bill after being approached by a constituent who thought Confederate Heroes Day insufficient because it does not recognize Union soldiers.

"I think the way that (my constituent) approached this is that there was a Civil War involving all of our United States of America," Howard said. "We should be recognizing all of those who were involved with that period of our history."

The state holiday, officially born in 1973 after the Texas Legislature combined celebrations of Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis' birthdays, falls on Jan. 19, Lee's birthday.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is celebrated on the third Monday in January, which places it around King's Jan. 15 birthday.

Brand said she was not concerned with the coinciding holidays, but said if one has to change it should be the King holiday.

"We had Confederate Heroes Day before there was a Martin Luther King Jr. Day, why can't they change theirs?" she asked. "I have no problem with them both being celebrated on the same day because most of the people who celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day don't celebrate Confederate Heroes Day."

Brand also is a member of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, a sister organization to the Sons of Confederate Veterans. Both groups organize memorials for prominent Confederate soldiers, as well as host banquets and reenactments throughout the year. The Sons of Confederate Veterans currently is in a legal battle with the state over its refusal to offer specialty license plates with the Confederate flag. The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments on March 23.

"Seventy thousand Texans fought for the Confederacy. Confederate Heroes Day honors each and every one of those," said Marshall Davis, spokesman for the Sons of Confederate Veterans. Allowing a celebration of the Confederacy is what King would have wanted, he suggested.

"We feel that we can honor both," he said. "Dr. King was about tolerance and diversity. Our chance to live Dr. King's dream is to have a society diverse enough to honor Confederates day and celebrate the great achievements of Dr. King."

Most important, he said, is that the Confederacy continue to be recognized as a vital part of Texas history.

"We are tired of revisionist history," he said. "We cannot judge history by current standards. ... The fact that Texas was a Confederate state is history. The more that the Confederate presence in Texas is removed, legislated away, then the less we honor those very crucial four years of Texas history. It is a part of history - leave it alone."