Why Remember Edmund Pettus?

No doubt you have heard or read about what USA Today describes as the "racist back story" of the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama.  After all the iconic bridge has been at the center of much of the reporting about this weekend's anniversary of Bloody Sunday, that day fifty years ago, when non-violent protesters were met with hatred and clubs by local officials as they marched for voting rights.

In case you haven't heard, Edmund Pettus was a Confederate general and a Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan in Alabama.  Much of his life and work was devoted to promoting white supremacy.  Many have noted the irony of the fact that this bridge named in his honor has become a potent symbol of the Civil Rights Movement.

The question being pondered by some is whether or not the bridge should be renamed.  Why honor the memory of one who engaged in such hateful actions?  Similar questions have arisen here, in the county where I reside, which is named after Robert E. Lee.  While not a member of the KKK, Lee was, of course, at the fore of the Confederate Army.  Should we continue to remember him in this way?

Quite honestly, I don't know the answer to such questions.  Especially in the case of Pettus.  Why remember such a soul in such a way?  Yet, there is something to be said for remembering.  Something indeed.  If the story of Pettus and the Klan is recalled on a regular basis perhaps it will remind us of why people needed to march across the bridge named for him and then on to Montgomery. 

Here in America there are too many who believe racism is a thing of the past.  Too many believe we are living in a post-racial society.  Perhaps a marker like the Edmund Pettus Bridge can help us remember not only how far we've come, but how far we still have to go.