The Hollings Society, because we need more men like Fritz Hollings in government (Charleston: legal, racist)

[Vaccinated Masker]

I came across a letter to The State newspaper by a man who claims to have been a NAACP lawyer in the early 1960s.

His letter is headlined "Despite favorable eulogies by black politicians, US. Sen. Hollings opposed integration"

https://www.thestate.com/opinion/let...229581709.html

This lawyer, Hemphill Pride II, is showing you what going against tribalism looks like. He's not a party man, assuming he is a member of that party. Here is some background info about Mr. Pride. https://www.scstatehouse.gov/sess124...bills/3952.htm

Keep in mind all of SC's major newspapers have given their readers the impression Ernest Hollings was a civil rights hero. It appears The State did not reach out to Mr. Hemphill to do a lengthy interview about Mr. Hollings.

It would be cool if Hemphill Pride posted on this topic.

[Vaccinated Masker]

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-...428-story.html

Here's the LA Times article about Hollings controversial remarks in 93 regarding cannibalism that got him in hot water with the NAACP.

He also joked about dropping the nuclear bomb on Hiroshima.

Hard to believe 'progressives' are arguing we need Hollings in our government today.

[Charlestondata]

Though he arrived in politics as a segregationist, his mindset changed during the Civil Rights era. As governor, Hollings oversaw the integration of Clemson University in 1963 and said in his governor's farewell address that South Carolinians should support "a government of laws, not of men."

As Senator, Hollings opposed attempts to weaken the Voting Rights Act and later was awarded numerous honors for his support of African-Americans during the Civil Rights era.

“Fritz Hollings was the first state figure who literally dragged South Carolina kicking and screaming into the 20th century,” said Jean Toal, former chief justice of the state Supreme Court. “He was one of those young men who went through the fires of World War II and emerged with the leadership and determination to change his own world.”

- The Greenville News, 2019

Maybe even Mr. Pride moved on.

[Vaccinated Masker]

I think Mr. Pride has seen all of the Great Man party talking points about Mr. Hollings.

That's why he spoke up in his letter to The State. His letter must have been written soon after Hollings died in April 2019.

I would love to see you and Mr. Pride debate Mr. Hollings.

You haven't provided any evidence that Clemson University and other colleges / schools in SC were not going to comply with the law on integration until Mr. Hollings saved the day. It also doesn't make sense to credit Hollings for the actions or inactions of other people.

It is hilarious that you cite a person asserting Hollings "literally dragged South Carolina kicking and screaming into the 20th century" given all of the dumb cringe comments he made that I referenced upthread. Members of his own party were criticizing him. You got it all mixed up. Hollings was a real life Michael Scott.

If Mr. Hollings sincerely changed, it is because the people of SC put pressure on him to do so. I don't buy that he changed. That's requires a big act of faith.

[Charlestondata]

Originally Posted by Vaccinated Masker

I think Mr. Pride has seen all of the Great Man party talking points about Mr. Hollings.

That's why he spoke up in his letter to The State. His letter must have been written soon after Hollings died in April 2019.

I would love to see you and Mr. Pride debate Mr. Hollings.

You haven't provided any evidence that Clemson University and other colleges / schools in SC were not going to comply with the law on integration until Mr. Hollings saved the day. It also doesn't make sense to credit Hollings for the actions or inactions of other people.

It is hilarious that you cite a person asserting Hollings "literally dragged South Carolina kicking and screaming into the 20th century" given all of the dumb cringe comments he made that I referenced upthread. Members of his own party were criticizing him. You got it all mixed up. Hollings was a real life Michael Scott.

If Mr. Hollings sincerely changed, it is because the people of SC put pressure on him to do so. I don't buy that he changed. That's requires a big act of faith.

See it as you wish. Like I’ve said, if protesters come out of hiding, maybe they will affect Hollings’s legacy and memorial(s). The Citadel has demonstrated some wokeness recently. Maybe they see it your way and are organizing behind the scenes. Don’t hold your breath.

[Vaccinated Masker]

Understood there will be no protests in terms of activism, because Hollings was a Democrat and didn't switch to the GOP. That's been my main point.

If John C Calhoun, Ben "Pitchfork" Tillman, and Wade Hampton had lived beyond the 1960s and stuck with the Democrat party, they probably would be given a free pass as well.

You haven't been able to refute any of the points that Mr. Pride or I have made. Both Mr. Pride and I did engage in a form of protest. Accurately pointing out a lie is a protest.

Mr. Hollings could not have lead SC into this century if he supported segregation prior to the courts striking it down.

[Charlestondata]

I don’t believe today’s protests against figures perceived as having been racist and oppressive toward people of color, without ever redeeming themselves, are organized according to the political party the figure was from.

[Vaccinated Masker]

That's true for the racist Democrats who didn't live past the 1960s. However, I believe most of the protesters would argue that John C Calhoun, Wade Hampton and Ben Pitchfork Tillman would be Republicans today although most of the segregationists did not switch to the GOP. Wikipedia labels every segregationist a conservative Democrat even if they were FDR or LBJ supporters. There's no such thing as a conservative FDR and LBJ fan.

Strom Thurmond is treated differently than Fritz Hollings by most people with your views. There's an obvious reason for that. One switched to the GOP, one stayed in the same party.

I don't think you could put up a statue of Thurmond in downtown Charleston right now without a lot of pushback.

You also implied again that Hollings redeemed himself. Can you cite his apology to black residents? Most of the people who argue Hollings redeemed himself are 60 plus year old white people like you and members of his party.

How did he redeem himself if he didn't apologize to the people he disrespected? I believe he actually tried to argue he wasn't racist at any point.

Every day the Democratic party accuses Republicans of being racist. But then we are told Ernest Hollings was a Great Man by the same accusers. You say conservatives who live in rural areas or the suburbs today are probably racist but at the same time you are an apologist for a man who was a segregationist and never apologized for it.

After the point in time you say Hollings changed, he was still making racist comments to include associating cannibalism with African people. He was bragging about our country dropping a nuclear bomb on people which included kids. Why would you want a person like this to be the poster boy for SC?

This country didn't develop nuclear bombs because of segregationists like him but he acted like he had something to do with it.

[Charlestondata]

I disagree that there would be a protest against a Thurmond statue in downtown Charleston, but since he wasn’t from here I doubt we’ll ever see a proposal for one. Official apologies for the way Black people were treated throughout U.S. history wasn’t a thing yet in Hollings’s time. I don’t hear anything anymore about removing Thurmond’s name from the UofSC fitness center. I believe historic political figures have to have died still promoting policies that harmed Black people, with never a change in temperament on racial issues, for Black people in large numbers to now see them as symbolic of racism and oppression on the same scale as they see a John C. Calhoun.

[Mutiny77]

Originally Posted by Vaccinated Masker

Wikipedia labels every segregationist a conservative Democrat even if they were FDR or LBJ supporters.

What's the Wikipedia entry that shows this?