H. K. Edgerton
Encyclopedia
H. K. Edgerton is a black
Southern heritage activist
and former president
of the NAACP's Asheville, North Carolina
, branch.
Edgerton runs a website, Southern Heritage 411, which provides Southern viewpoints such as that there was and remains a feeling of brotherhood between black Americans, slave and free, historically and at present, and research on Black Confederate participation in the American Civil War
. Edgerton is a strong pro-Confederate advocate working against what he considers to be racially-divisive politics and historical misinterpretation. He continues as a popular public speaker at many pro-Southern heritage events.
In December 1998, Edgerton was suspended from the NAACP after he approached Kirk Lyons, an attorney who had represented Ku Klux Klan
leader Louis Beam
in a 1988 conspiracy trial, to assist the Asheville NAACP in a lawsuit over housing policy. According to the NAACP, his suspension was due to non-compliance with the organization's rules when the Asheville chapter fell into debt. In 1999, he was voted out of office.
Edgerton is noted for a march from North Carolina
to Texas
to build awareness of Southern culture and history
.
Edgerton is now the chairman of the board of directors of the Southern Legal Resource Center
. He is also an associate member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans
. Edgerton has received criticism because of his efforts to support a religious test requiring municipal officials to profess belief in God in order to hold public office in North Carolina, which critics claim would violate the no religious test clause
in Article VI, section 3
of the Constitution.
H.K. Edgerton is one of America's most prominent pro-Confederate activists. On his website, Edgerton discusses what he believes to be the real causes of the American Civil War, arguing that, contrary to popular belief, the Civil War had almost nothing to do with the issue of slavery. He looks at cases of racism in the North, pointing out that Abraham Lincoln supported an amendment that would create permanent slavery, and five Northern states kept slavery until they were forced to abandon the institution, due to the 13th amendment. Even then, Delaware, a Northern loyalist state, refused to ratify the amendment. Edgerton also discusses the constitutional right of secession, arguing that not only was southern secession legal, it was justified. Outrageous tariffs,that drove the south into extreme poverty, and many unconstitutional actions of Abraham Lincoln lead to the secession of the Confederate States of America.
Edgerton blames the North for the onslaught of racism in the twentieth century, pointing out that post-civil war poverty in the south lasted until post World War II, and led to feelings of resentment. This resulted in the violent racism of the civil rights era. He points out that if the South had been allowed to go peacefully, both the United States and the Confederate States would have abandoned racism long before the 1900s, while keeping a booming trade alive between the industrial North and Agricultural South.
, in an episode about reparations.
Black people
The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...
Southern heritage activist
Activism
Activism consists of intentional efforts to bring about social, political, economic, or environmental change. Activism can take a wide range of forms from writing letters to newspapers or politicians, political campaigning, economic activism such as boycotts or preferentially patronizing...
and former president
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
of the NAACP's Asheville, North Carolina
Asheville, North Carolina
Asheville is a city in and the county seat of Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. It is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the 11th largest city in North Carolina. The City is home to the United States National Climatic Data Center , which is the world's largest active...
, branch.
Edgerton runs a website, Southern Heritage 411, which provides Southern viewpoints such as that there was and remains a feeling of brotherhood between black Americans, slave and free, historically and at present, and research on Black Confederate participation in the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. Edgerton is a strong pro-Confederate advocate working against what he considers to be racially-divisive politics and historical misinterpretation. He continues as a popular public speaker at many pro-Southern heritage events.
In December 1998, Edgerton was suspended from the NAACP after he approached Kirk Lyons, an attorney who had represented Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
leader Louis Beam
Louis Beam
Louis Beam is a Texan white nationalist. After high-school he served as a helicopter door-gunner in Vietnam. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. Back in the U.S. he became a Klansman, leading a maritime Louisiana KKK element against government help to Vietnamese immigrant fishermen. He...
in a 1988 conspiracy trial, to assist the Asheville NAACP in a lawsuit over housing policy. According to the NAACP, his suspension was due to non-compliance with the organization's rules when the Asheville chapter fell into debt. In 1999, he was voted out of office.
Edgerton is noted for a march from North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
to Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
to build awareness of Southern culture and history
History of the Southern United States
The history of the Southern United States reaches back hundreds of years and includes the Mississippian people, well known for their mound building. European history in the region began in the very earliest days of the exploration and colonization of North America...
.
Edgerton is now the chairman of the board of directors of the Southern Legal Resource Center
Southern Legal Resource Center
The Southern Legal Resource Center, Inc. is a South Carolina non-profit public law corporation which offers legal support to defend what they see as First Amendment violations, violation of civil rights, or discrimination of advocates of Southern Heritage.-History:The SLRC was founded in 1995 by a...
. He is also an associate member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans
Sons of Confederate Veterans
Sons of Confederate Veterans is an American national heritage organization with members in all fifty states and in almost a dozen countries in Europe, Australia and South America...
. Edgerton has received criticism because of his efforts to support a religious test requiring municipal officials to profess belief in God in order to hold public office in North Carolina, which critics claim would violate the no religious test clause
No religious test clause
The No Religious Test Clause of the United States Constitution is found in Article VI, paragraph 3, and states that:This has been interpreted to mean that no federal employee, whether elected or appointed, career or political, can be required to adhere to or accept any religion or belief...
in Article VI, section 3
Article Six of the United States Constitution
Article Six of the United States Constitution establishes the Constitution and the laws and treaties of the United States made in accordance with it as the supreme law of the land, forbids a religious test as a requirement for holding a governmental position and holds the United States under the...
of the Constitution.
H.K. Edgerton is one of America's most prominent pro-Confederate activists. On his website, Edgerton discusses what he believes to be the real causes of the American Civil War, arguing that, contrary to popular belief, the Civil War had almost nothing to do with the issue of slavery. He looks at cases of racism in the North, pointing out that Abraham Lincoln supported an amendment that would create permanent slavery, and five Northern states kept slavery until they were forced to abandon the institution, due to the 13th amendment. Even then, Delaware, a Northern loyalist state, refused to ratify the amendment. Edgerton also discusses the constitutional right of secession, arguing that not only was southern secession legal, it was justified. Outrageous tariffs,that drove the south into extreme poverty, and many unconstitutional actions of Abraham Lincoln lead to the secession of the Confederate States of America.
Edgerton blames the North for the onslaught of racism in the twentieth century, pointing out that post-civil war poverty in the south lasted until post World War II, and led to feelings of resentment. This resulted in the violent racism of the civil rights era. He points out that if the South had been allowed to go peacefully, both the United States and the Confederate States would have abandoned racism long before the 1900s, while keeping a booming trade alive between the industrial North and Agricultural South.
Media appearances
In May 2006 Edgerton advanced his theories on Penn and Teller's show Bullshit!Bullshit!
Penn & Teller: Bullshit! is an American documentary television series that aired from 2003 to 2010 on the premium cable channel Showtime. In Canada, the series aired on The Movie Network and Movie Central.- Overview :...
, in an episode about reparations.
External links
- SouthernHeritage411.com
- Asheville NAACP Requests Assistance from the Southern Legal Resource CenterSouthern Legal Resource CenterThe Southern Legal Resource Center, Inc. is a South Carolina non-profit public law corporation which offers legal support to defend what they see as First Amendment violations, violation of civil rights, or discrimination of advocates of Southern Heritage.-History:The SLRC was founded in 1995 by a...
- Confederates in Black from the Southern Poverty Law CenterSouthern Poverty Law CenterThe Southern Poverty Law Center is an American nonprofit civil rights organization noted for its legal victories against white supremacist groups; legal representation for victims of hate groups; monitoring of alleged hate groups, militias and extremist organizations; and educational programs that...
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08apd7SJYVc Southern Spirit