Officials at the Fort Leavenworth (Kans.) U.S. Army Command and General Staff College reviewed and upheld a February 1 decision by Col. Stanley Evans (ret.), dean of students and administration at the time, to remove an exhibit on black Confederate soldiers two days after its installation because of concerns over its lack of balance.
The display at the Combined Arms Research Library was designed by Ed Kennedy, a retired Army lieutenant colonel and ROTC instructor at Leavenworth High School, who now accuses officials at the Army base of censoring him and being unresponsive to his appeals, the Kansas City (Mo.) Star reported March 20. However, according to base spokesman Lt. Col. Ben Santos, “In our view the display lacked balance and sensitivity to the larger context of why black soldiers may have served in the Confederate Army,” including cases where slaves were coerced into service.
Kennedy argued that “Just because we’re Southerners doesn’t make us racist. This organization is very open. We’re trying to break the stereotypes.”
Posted March 27, 2000.