…”The United States Navy is rich in proud traditions,
yet it too is tainted with the stain of segregation. Two Nimitz-class carriers,
the most powerful ships in the fleet, are named for signers of the March 12
manifesto.
This is the same Southern
Manifesto where the signatures railed against the Supreme Courts decision on
segregation.
“The USS John Stennis, recently returned from a tour
protecting the peace in the Persian Gulf, is named for the former chairman of
two powerful Senate committees and who served as Senate president pro tempore,
making him third in the line of presidential succession. The USS Carl Vinson
honors a segregationist Georgia congressman who headed the House Committee on
Naval Affairs and the House Armed Services Committee.
“Should these ships of the line continue to bear names
honoring men who helped foster the idea that segregation was acceptable and
positive? As President George W. Bush said while rebuking Lott, ‘Every day our
nation was segregated was a day that America was unfaithful to our founding
ideals.’ [Full Story]
<Johnny Carson Voice> I
didn’t know that.</Johnny Carson
Voice>
