Kindly Uncle Shelby

It’s not news that Shelby Foote, who dominated Ken Burns’s The Civil War, was a straightforward apologist for the Confederacy:

I’m guessing the follow-up question wasn’t “What do you think the best example of principled Confederate support for states’ rights was — their strong support for a federal Fugitive Slave Act or demand for a federal slave code to regulate territories?” But it certainly should have been!

Also, Foote was a massive racist:

In which @williamrblack finds
Shelby Foote linking the trope of the black rape with emancipation. https://t.co/s6i6KIcm9l pic.twitter.com/9nhsrfawYO

— Ta-Nehisi Coates (@tanehisicoates) November 6, 2017

What an amazing coincidence! Almost as coincidental as the fact that the Noble Cause of State’s Rights is still being used to prevent African-Americans from voting, even in cases where the relevant federal power is explicit and plenary. Why do these Abstract Theoretical Principles keep shoring up white supremacy?

…[EL] Look, I’m sure that Foote had himself buried next to KKK founder Nathan Bedford Forrest demonstrates his great commitment to racial justice.