The Sons of Confederate Veterans claims the Confederate flag is heritage. The United Daughters of the Confederacy makes similar claims. They claim not to be racist and to be against extremist groups.

From my 23-year investigative study of these neo-Confederate groups, I know this is not true. The Sons of Confederate Veterans praises the Ku Klux Klan of Reconstruction and sells pro-slavery books claiming that slavery is justified by the Bible. The United Daughters of the Confederacy in a recent issue of the organization’s magazine asserts that newly freed African-American slaves during Reconstruction weren’t ready to vote and that the passage of the 14th Amendment was misguided. They don’t expel members who are members of the Council of Conservative Citizens.

Numerous other examples could be given. My research about the neo-Confederate movement and its racism have been collected into books published by university presses, peer reviewed academic journals and Black Commentator.

The neo-Confederate movement recently has gotten knocked down across the nation. But make no mistake, it is still there. These people don’t fit the stereotype of who a racist is. They have advanced college degrees and are middle class. Their agenda, which is hostile to equality of any type and to democracy, is still moving along.

One reason the neo-Confederate movement is able to advance its agenda is that the public is not aware of their agenda. The fact that the neo-Confederates are racist isn’t getting before the public. Another reason is that they are enabled by mainstream institutions, or those that purport to be mainstream.

The Sons of Confederate Veterans is having its 2015 national convention at the DoubleTree Richmond-Midlothian hotel on Koger Center Boulevard July 15-19. The Museum of the Confederacy has leased its space to the Sons of Confederate Veterans for a reception the evening of July 15.

Writing another academic article isn’t enough. So to bring before the public the real agenda of the neo-Confederates, and to protest the enabling of the neo-Confederates by the museum, a protest is planned in front of the Museum of the Confederacy at 1201 E. Clay St. from 5 to 9 p.m. July 15.

Additionally, there will be protests at the DoubleTree Richmond-Midlothian hotel during the convention.

I appeal to Richmond to join the campaign against neo-Confederacy and join the protest against the Sons of Confederate Veterans and the Museum of the Confederacy. Our Facebook Event Page is https://www.facebook.com/events/1586690974922773/ or Protest at the Museum of the Confederacy.

EDWARD SEBESTA

Mountain Top, Pa.