Post by Bevo on Jun 19, 2020 19:33:53 GMT
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Breckinridge_Castleman
When a dispute over whether African-American soldiers serving in the US Army arose among some Southerners during the First World War, General Castleman said, "I unhesitatingly say that I will at any time salute an officer, superior or inferior, who salutes me, without regard to the color of his skin. The regulations and laws, and the fundamentals of courtesy and discipline, upon which these regulations and laws are based, prescribe this. It is no time to stand against them. I want to urge every soldier to be a soldier in the full sense of the term. We are at war, and soldiers are under the rules of the American army. We are all one under the flag. We salute the rank, not the individual."[3]
According to a newspaper eulogy published following his death, John B Castleman could also be described as an early advocate for social justice in the city of Louisville. A May 26, 1918 tribute to the General published in the Courier Journal entitled "A Negro's tribute to General Castleman" written by African American educator and community member J. Raymond Harris, heralded Castleman for his commitment and kindness to the African American community of Louisville. Harris starts his eulogy with "Will you give me space in which to speak of the great sorrow that has come to the colored people in General Castleman's Death" [4]
Harris makes sure to note Castleman's Civil war service alongside the Confederacy, but speaks of his road to redemption saying "yet no hero on the other side ever held so high a niche in the hearts and minds of colored Kentuckians."[4]
Elsewhere in the Eulogy, Harris speaks truth to the selfless nature of the Castleman by saying "His Kindness to us, his willingness to help with counsel and advice, were unstudied and uncalculated the result of neither the politician's bid of popularity nor of the selfish man's desire to advance his own self interests." [4]
Harris also wrote kindly of the general “Whenever . . . injustice or proscription raised its hand against African Americans, Gen. Castleman’s voice was heard pleading for toleration and amicable adjustment.”
Another example of Castleman's standing up for racial justice in his time can be found in a 1924 Courier Journal Article written by 19 African American faith leaders published 6 years after his death. In the letter outlining outrage at the recent segregation of the park system, the leaders specifically mention Castleman not only as the Father of the park system, but point out that it was Castleman who had prevented the segregation of the parks whilst alive. The leaders said "General Castleman, the Father of our Park System, refused to allow any kind of racial segregation in the parks of the city, and this policy has been followed until the present board issued it's segregation orders a few days ago. This has been true in theory and in fact."
After many years of vandalism, and random attacks... the City of Louisville finally caved, and removed the statue of this man from the entrance of Cherokee Park.
The black people of Louisville never had a better friend.
This mob hysteria needs to be confronted.
It's out of hand.
When a dispute over whether African-American soldiers serving in the US Army arose among some Southerners during the First World War, General Castleman said, "I unhesitatingly say that I will at any time salute an officer, superior or inferior, who salutes me, without regard to the color of his skin. The regulations and laws, and the fundamentals of courtesy and discipline, upon which these regulations and laws are based, prescribe this. It is no time to stand against them. I want to urge every soldier to be a soldier in the full sense of the term. We are at war, and soldiers are under the rules of the American army. We are all one under the flag. We salute the rank, not the individual."[3]
According to a newspaper eulogy published following his death, John B Castleman could also be described as an early advocate for social justice in the city of Louisville. A May 26, 1918 tribute to the General published in the Courier Journal entitled "A Negro's tribute to General Castleman" written by African American educator and community member J. Raymond Harris, heralded Castleman for his commitment and kindness to the African American community of Louisville. Harris starts his eulogy with "Will you give me space in which to speak of the great sorrow that has come to the colored people in General Castleman's Death" [4]
Harris makes sure to note Castleman's Civil war service alongside the Confederacy, but speaks of his road to redemption saying "yet no hero on the other side ever held so high a niche in the hearts and minds of colored Kentuckians."[4]
Elsewhere in the Eulogy, Harris speaks truth to the selfless nature of the Castleman by saying "His Kindness to us, his willingness to help with counsel and advice, were unstudied and uncalculated the result of neither the politician's bid of popularity nor of the selfish man's desire to advance his own self interests." [4]
Harris also wrote kindly of the general “Whenever . . . injustice or proscription raised its hand against African Americans, Gen. Castleman’s voice was heard pleading for toleration and amicable adjustment.”
Another example of Castleman's standing up for racial justice in his time can be found in a 1924 Courier Journal Article written by 19 African American faith leaders published 6 years after his death. In the letter outlining outrage at the recent segregation of the park system, the leaders specifically mention Castleman not only as the Father of the park system, but point out that it was Castleman who had prevented the segregation of the parks whilst alive. The leaders said "General Castleman, the Father of our Park System, refused to allow any kind of racial segregation in the parks of the city, and this policy has been followed until the present board issued it's segregation orders a few days ago. This has been true in theory and in fact."
After many years of vandalism, and random attacks... the City of Louisville finally caved, and removed the statue of this man from the entrance of Cherokee Park.
The black people of Louisville never had a better friend.
This mob hysteria needs to be confronted.
It's out of hand.
