Skip to content
  • Subscribe
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Youtube
  • Instagram
  • Email
  • Home
  • News
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment
  • Features
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe to Ray’s Columns
Suburban Chicagoland

Suburban Chicagoland

Original News, Features & Opinion on local and regional news you won't find anywhere else

  • About
    • About
    • Advertise
    • Our Writers
      • Ray Hanania
      • Bill Lipinski
      • Biography: Aaron Hanania
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Policy
    • Reach Out
  • Sections
    • Events
    • Opinion
    • News
    • Features
    • Seniors
    • Comic Strip
  • Library
    • “MIdnight Flight” Online Book
      • Midnight Flight Book Overview
      • Midnight Flight Introduction
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 1
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 2
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 3
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 4
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 5
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 6
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 7
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 8
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 9
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 10
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 11
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 12
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 13
    • Villages, Cities & Towns
    • Federal Office Holders
    • County Officials
    • Legislators
  • Subscribe to Ray’s Columns
  • Comment
  • Podcast
    • Ray Hanania on Politics
    • Two Guys on Politics
    • Hanania on Tiktok
  • News Wire
  • Archive 2004-2013
  • Toggle search form
  • Father and two daughters Jeffery M Leving
    Father’s Fight to Protect his Abused and Badly Beaten Daughters Dads' Rights
  • Illinois Senator Michael Hastings addressing the Orland Township Democratic Organization Wednesday Oct. 12, 2022
    Hastings announces $75,000 grant for Olympia Fields Bicentennial Park renovations Illinois Legislature
  • Alleged Member of Chicago Street Gang Charged With Soliciting the Murder of Senior Law Enforcement Official Involved in “Operation Midway Blitz” Crime
  • IIEC Logo
    The Energy Omnibus Bill will increase rates over the rest of this decade as Illinois families and businesses toil under higher utility costs Business
  • Thaddeus Kosciuszko, Polish hero of the American Revolution. After arriving in America in 1776, Kosciuszko joined the Continental Army. As a skilled engineer, he made significant contributions to the war by designing fortifications for several strategic places such as Philadelphia, West Point, and Saratoga. Kosciuszko later returned to Poland to lead his native military in a 1794 uprising. In Detroit, Courtesy of WIkipedia
    Cook County Treasurer Pappas showcases Polish photographer’s first-ever American exhibit and honors Polish American Heritage Month in Chicago Cook County
  • On Saturday, October 4th, Cook County Commissioner Frank J. Aguilar hosted the Fifth Annual 16th District Dia de los Muertos Resource Fair at his district office. Partnering with Commissioner Aguilar were the Village of Lyons, Lyons School District 103, Teamsters Local 777, and Rincon Family Services.
    Commissioner Frank J. Aguilar Hosts Fifth Annual Dia de los Muertos Family Resource Fair  Cook County
  • Jesse Jackson Jr July 2025
    Jesse Jackson Jr. Launches Candidacy for Congress Civil Rights
  • Cook County Treasurer Maria Papas
    Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas to Celebrate Diwali by Recognizing Indian Community Leaders Cook County
  • Andrew Boutros US Attorney Illinois
    Statement of US Attorney Andrew S. Boutros and Federal Law Enforcement Leadership in Chicago on Ongoing Criminal Immigration Enforcement Operations Chicago
  • Cook County Treasurer Maria Papas
    The 5 Most Common Mistakes Homeowners Make with Property Taxes Cook County
  • Road construction cement truck. Photo courtesy of Ray Hanania
    Hastings: $123 million in IDOT projects will improve South Suburban roads through collaboration with local leaders construction
  • Source: Electric Power Monthly - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)
    Ratepayers will lose in the rush to approve battery storage electricity legislation in Springfield Business
  • Joyful reunion photo courtesy of Jeffery M. Leving & Assc law firm
    Leving Team Prevented a Father’s Wrongful Separation from His Child Dads' Rights
  • CTF Illinois Orland Park, 18230 Orland Pkwy, Orland Park, IL 60467
    Hastings, Giannoulias announce opening of temporary driver services facility in Orland Park Baby Boomers
  • Emagine Theater Pink popcorn
    Popcorn with a purpose: Emagine Theatres brings back Pink Caramel Corn to support Pink Fund during Breast Cancer Awareness Month Business
Portrait of Gen. Robert E. Lee, officer of the Confederate Army (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Destroying American history because of racial politics

Posted on May 16, 2018November 29, 2019 By Ray Hanania 1 Comment on Destroying American history because of racial politics
SHARE THIS STORY
            
 
  

Destroying American history because of racial politics

The wave of attacks against symbols of the civil war is undermining the history of this nation for political reasons and is driven by a form of reverse racism. Statues and markers recognizing icons of the South from the civil war are being targeted because of reverse racism and a sense of anti-White hatred

By Ray Hanania

My father and uncle are buried at Oak Woods Cemetery on Chicago’s East Side. Christian immigrants from Jerusalem, they both fought honorably during World War II against Nazism, enlisting after Pearl Harbor.

My uncle died when I was four and my father died when I was 17. When they died and were buried, Oak Woods cemetery was a safe place to visit.

Back in the 1970s, I would go their often to visit their graves and the graves of my grandmother and cousins. But over the years, I don’t feel safe driving there because of my race.

I limit my trips there to once a year, and when my mother died, instead of burying her there next to my father, I felt it was safer to bury her in the west suburbs where I didn’t have to put up with the reverse racism that we’re not supposed to talk about.

Portrait of Gen. Robert E. Lee, officer of the Confederate Army (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Portrait of Gen. Robert E. Lee, officer of the Confederate Army (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I do remember driving through Oak Woods in the 1970s and, being a history buff, roaming through the southern section of the cemetery where several thousand Confederate soldiers were buried. The Confederate soldiers were not from Illinois but had been imprisoned nearby at Camp Douglas beginning in 1862 during the Civil War. They died during their imprisonment and some historians argue they were mistreated while at Camp Douglas in Chicago, one of the largest Civil War prisons in the country at the time.

Years later, a statue of the Confederate soldiers was erected near their graves, many of which have been desecrated and vandalized during recent years.

Last month, a group of protestors denouncing “racism,” demanded that the statue be removed. They claimed that the statue symbolized racism in much the same way that the Confederate or Rebel Flag symbolizes racism.

I guess if I were alive in the 1860s, I would have enlisted and fought with the Union to fight the Confederate rebel soldiers in part to keep the young America undivided and in part to oppose slavery and racial discrimination. I enlisted during the Vietnam War, even though I didn’t agree with the American war policy there, and even though I was disgusted by reports of American soldiers massacring Vietnamese civilians out of anger and revenge for the killing of their comrades. I enlisted because I was about to be drafted, so I decided to make a choice to serve in the U.S. Air Force rather than go into the Army.

I also know many I served with in the military didn’t agree with the war or with America’s foreign polices. But, we all served anyway.

I imagine, many of the Confederate soldiers imprisoned at Camp Douglas, felt the same about the Civil War. It wasn’t about slavery or the North versus the South. They were drafted in to service based on where they lived.

So why punish the Confederate soldiers buried at Oak Woods Cemetery? The statue, called “The Confederate Mound,” lists the names of all of the Confederate soldiers who are buried there. It’s a part of American history and it should remain as a reminder of a war that tore this country apart.

Let’s be honest, slavery wasn’t just an immoral American industry. It was practiced in Europe, the Middle East, and even by warring tribes in Africa.

And let’s be honest even more. Racism isn’t a one-way street anymore. It’s a two-way street. And oftentimes, White people are victims of racism, too.

Why tear down history? Tearing down and erasing history is bad politics. Instead of erasing racism, it feeds racism. It feeds distrust. It empowers segregation of our minds.

It’s not an easy subject to talk about, but we should talk about it. Instead of exploiting race to support or oppose extremists on either side, we should come together and recognize the unique history that created this country and be grateful, not angry, for what we have.

(Ray Hanania is an award-winning columnist, author and former Chicago City Hall reporter. Email mail him through his personal website at www.Hanania.com or at [email protected].)

newswire info
  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Ray Hanania
Ray Hanania
Ray Hanania is an award-winning columnist, author & former Chicago City Hall reporter (1977-1992). A veteran who served during the Vietnam War and the recipient of four SPJ Peter Lisagor Awards for column writing, Hanania writes weekly opinion columns on mainstream American & Chicagoland topics for the Southwest News-Herald, Des Plaines Valley News, the Regional News, The Reporter Newspapers, and Suburban Chicagoland.  

His award winning columns can be found at www.HANANIA.COM Subscribe FREE today

Hanania also writes about Middle East issues for the Arab News, and The Arab Daily News criticizing government policies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.

Email Ray Hanania at [email protected].

Follow RayHanania at Twitter
Ray Hanania
Latest posts by Ray Hanania (see all)
  • Father’s Fight to Protect his Abused and Badly Beaten Daughters - October 9, 2025
  • Hastings announces $75,000 grant for Olympia Fields Bicentennial Park renovations - October 8, 2025
  • Alleged Member of Chicago Street Gang Charged With Soliciting the Murder of Senior Law Enforcement Official Involved in “Operation Midway Blitz” - October 8, 2025
NPV: 26
  • Tweet

SHARE THIS STORY
            
 
  
 
 
 
           
Baby Boomers, Chicago, Commentary, General Topics, National, Opinion, Orland Park, Politics, Racism, rayhanania, Suburban Chicagoland Tags:cemeteries, civil war, Confederate Soldiers, Confederates, General Robert E. Lee, graves, Oak Woods Cemetery, reverse racism, South, statues

Post navigation

Previous Post: Stage 773 hosts 6th Annual Chicago Nerd Comedy Festival May 17-20
Next Post: Rauner puts focus back on residents, not criminals

Related Posts

  • Congresswoman Robin Kelly official photo
    Democratic Party Chair Robin Kelly Names Abby Witt New Executive Director Cook County
  • 100 Things to Do in Route 66 Before You Die by Author Jim Hinckley
    New book released, “100 Things to do on Route 66 before You Die” Books & Films
  • Chicago Wolves lose to Toronto Marlies in overtime at AllState Arena Nov. 14, 2021
    Chicago Wolves valiant rally falls short against Rockford IceHogs Chicago
  • Ethnic food vendor at the annual Bolingbrook International Cultural Festival, July 15, 2023
    Bolingbrook to host International Festival of Culture July 15 Culture
  • Ray Hanania and family Easter 1957.
    Midnight Flight: Online book on Race in Chicago Baby Boomers
  • Buddy Holly comes to life News

More Related Articles

Cristina Nonato, Philipine American Activists, candidate for Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) in the March 15, 2022 Democratic Primary election More endorsements for Nonato for Water Reclamation District Cook County
Road construction cement truck. Photo courtesy of Ray Hanania Construction employment rises in response to labor shortages General Topics
Congresswoman Robin Kelly official photo Robin Kelly details what Trump’s “Big Ugly Bill means for Illinois Federal
Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Photo courtesy of WIkipedia Media hypocrisy corrupts debate on Ginsburg succession Blogger
Orland Park Trustee Jim Dodge Jim Dodge announces for Orland Park Mayor Blogger
English: Rod Blagojevich, Emil Jones and Jeffrey Schoenberg at Illinois Executive Mansion (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Hard to feel sorry for Blagojevich, but it’s not about him Blogger

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Login with your Social ID
  • OPINION
  • 06-04-25 Two Guys on Politics Background Zoom LOGO with images
    Video Podcast: Trump Kimmel Kirk Great American Divide Illegal Aliens polling and Illegal Aliens and ICE
    September 20, 2025
  • Illinois House Speaker Emanuel "Chris" Welch speaking at a West Side affordable housing dedication
    Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, one of the best candidates to become Illinois Governor
    September 7, 2025
  • Cook County Treasurer Maria Papas
    What You’re Missing on Your Property Tax Bill
    September 5, 2025
  • 05-23-25 Jeffery M. Leving
    Children of divorce caught in the middle during the holidays
    August 27, 2025
  • Cook County Treasurer Maria Papas
    We Can Help You Understand Your Property Taxes—In Nearly Any Language
    August 8, 2025
Subscribe to Ray Hanania's column graphic

Enter Your Email to Subscribe to Ray Hanania’s Columns

  • The-Kings-Pawn-Book-300-x-300.png

Mohammed Faheem The Lightning Strike Radio

  • NEWS
  • Father and two daughters Jeffery M Leving
    Father’s Fight to Protect his Abused and Badly Beaten Daughters
    October 9, 2025
  • Illinois Senator Michael Hastings addressing the Orland Township Democratic Organization Wednesday Oct. 12, 2022
    Hastings announces $75,000 grant for Olympia Fields Bicentennial Park renovations
    October 8, 2025
  • Alleged Member of Chicago Street Gang Charged With Soliciting the Murder of Senior Law Enforcement Official Involved in “Operation Midway Blitz”
    October 8, 2025
  • IIEC Logo
    The Energy Omnibus Bill will increase rates over the rest of this decade as Illinois families and businesses toil under higher utility costs
    October 8, 2025
  • Thaddeus Kosciuszko, Polish hero of the American Revolution. After arriving in America in 1776, Kosciuszko joined the Continental Army. As a skilled engineer, he made significant contributions to the war by designing fortifications for several strategic places such as Philadelphia, West Point, and Saratoga. Kosciuszko later returned to Poland to lead his native military in a 1794 uprising. In Detroit, Courtesy of WIkipedia
    Cook County Treasurer Pappas showcases Polish photographer’s first-ever American exhibit and honors Polish American Heritage Month in Chicago
    October 8, 2025
John Kass Columns

Order the book PoweR PR; Ethnic Activists Guide to Strategic Communications

YOUTUBE VIDEOS

CLICK TO SUBSCRIBE TO RAY HANANIA'S YOUTUBE VIDEOS


Click here to view the video on YouTube or use the widget below.

Follow Ray Hanania at
Twitter
Facebook
TitkTok
BlueSky
RayHanania Columns

Creative Commons License
All works on this website is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Do not edit original work. Give credit to the original source.

Categories

Copyright © 2022 Suburban Chicagoland & Urban Strategies Group

Powered by PressBook Premium theme