Guest lecturer discusses Civil War and its ties to modern race relations

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Monday night a history professor from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon, spoke with UNCW students and staff in a lecture called Memory Matters: Frederick Douglas, the Civil War and the Politics of Civil War Memorialization.

Reiko Hillyer explained to students the significance of Frederick Douglas’ views on the Civil War. She said he wanted to tell people the most important part of the Civil War was the emancipation of slaves. Hillyer said some people believed the civil war was about states’ rights, not freeing slaves.

“The idea that they fought for states’ rights and they were valiant and noble, that slavery was only incidental to the causes of the war, that narrative helped to justify the rise of Jim Crow, segregation, terrorism, and violence against black people for decades,” said Hillyer.

She discussed modern day symbols like Confederate monuments and memorials.

“The very mundaneness, the banality, serves to underwrite a very vague sense of white supremacy that goes unquestioned, until you actually question what the memorial stands for,” said Hillyer.

Hillyer said in her opinion the way to make race relations better in our communities is to understand that racism still exists.

“I think that we are in the middle of a fundamental misunderstanding. There are many people who don’t think racism is still a problem, as long as that’s the case we can’t have an honest conversation about democracy or equality,” said Hillyer.

Keith Spencer, an UNCW student who attended the lecture, said he agreed with Hillyer.

“The more talks that we have, the more communication I think that’ll bring out the solution to getting past race,” said Spencer.