In a surprising new move, Virginia has taken another step in moving away from its tradition of honoring Confederate generals. The newly-elected Virginia House has voted to strike the holiday “Lee-Jackson Day” from the official list of state holidays. This is notable, as the holiday was previously observed on the Friday before Martin Luther King Day, and honored both Robert E. Lee and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson as “defenders of the cause.”
“I think Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee are some of the greatest men to have ever lived,” stated a supporter named Carson Via during January’s Lee-Jackson Day celebration. At the time, Via spoke to reporters while dressed in a replica of a Confederate soldier’s uniform. “Great men, and we’re all getting washed away.”
Whenever moves are made to address celebrations of the Confederacy, there is a small but vocal minority that often crows about the loss of historical context. However, many argue that these arguments are made in bad faith, and, instead, likely represent an attempt to keep the legacy of racism and slavery represented by the Confederacy relevant.
Virginia Governor Ralph Northam has made a point of reforming out-of-date aspects of Virginia, including Election Day not being a holiday. In order to make room for another holiday in the state, Virginia Democrats, who control its government presently, moved to have Lee-Jackson Day struck from the list of holidays.
“We need to make Election Day a holiday,” Northam insisted in his State of the Commonwealth speech in January. “We can do it by ending the Lee-Jackson holiday that Virginia holds … It commemorates a lost cause. It’s time to move on.” The Virginia Senate passed a bill to end the holiday last month, so now, all that is left is for both the House and Senate to vote to confirm the bill to end Jackson-Lee Day.
Allowing easier access to voting is a huge push for Democrats all over the US at present, and Northam’s push to make Election Day a holiday is further evidence of this initiative.
