美国国家公共电台 NPR Texas Town 'Balances' Confederate Statue With One Of Lawyer Who Fought KKK

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

The arguments over Confederate monuments and their ties to slavery continues almost daily across the South. Confederate memorials in Norfolk and St. Louis were vandalized while the small town of Brandenburg, Ky., welcomed a Confederate statue that the University of Louisville had taken down. So should they stay, or should they go? NPR's Wade¹ Goodwyn reports that some leaders of a town in Texas believe they have found a third option.

WADE GOODWYN, BYLINE²: Georgetown Mayor Dale Ross stands in his historic town square and resting proudly on the chest of the city's latest statuarial acquisition.

DALE ROSS: Dan Moody³ - he is an icon⁴ in Williamson County. He was responsible for the first successful prosecution⁵ of the KKK in the United States of America.

GOODWYN: Young Dan Moody stands proudly in bronze, hat in one hand, law book in the other. In 1923, Georgetown's 29-year-old district attorney charged and convicted four members of the local Ku Klux Klan for the whipping and tarring of a traveling salesman. It was during the height of the Klan's power, which had grown to millions of members nationwide. In Texas, that included one U.S. senator and the mayors of Dallas, Fort Worth and Wichita Falls. Ross says Moody's decision to prosecute⁶ stunned⁷ Georgetown's community.

D. ROSS: Back in the day, you had the Ku Klux Klan that was in every level of government. They were the leaders of the community. And so this was a totally courageous⁸ move by Dan Moody because he put his life in jeopardy⁹.

GOODWYN: Moody's triumph over the Klan made him nationally famous. And he went on to become the youngest governor in Texas history. These days, Georgetown is a conservative suburb north of Austin of about 60,000 people. There'd long been talk about erecting¹⁰ a statue of Dan Moody. But in June of 2015, a racist¹¹ rampage at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, S.C., changed the conversation. The killings¹² of nine black worshipers generated a political backlash against the Confederate battle flag and Confederate memorials. And that included in Georgetown.

MICKIE ROSS: I called our county judge because I said, I'm sure there are going to be some kind of issues here.

GOODWYN: Mickie Ross is the director of the Williamson Museum. And her prediction was correct. A local group of African-Americans, Unitarian and Methodist ministers and white liberals had been advocating that something be done with the 100-year-old Confederate statue that towers over the town square. Move it to Ross's museum, or at least put a plaque¹³ next to it detailing the realities of Georgetown slave life at the time. But the town's predominantly conservative, white leadership wasn't crazy about either of those ideas. But what about adding a statue of the local hero who once fought the Ku Klux Klan?

M. ROSS: And there were - began to be some letters to the editor about - maybe we should promote Dan Moody here.

GOODWYN: And so, last October, a spiffy, forever-young Dan Moody took his place on the courthouse square.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PATRICIA BERNSTEIN: Thank you so much.

GOODWYN: In the beautifully restored courtroom where Moody won his four historic assault cases, author Patricia Bernstein addresses a crowd who's come to hear her talk about Moody and the Klan.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

BERNSTEIN: In the early 1920s, the Ku Klux Klan, of all things - it was very popular up in the Midwest. In fact, a lot of historians think that Indiana ended up being the state most thoroughly¹⁴ infested¹⁵ by the Klan.

GOODWYN: Bernstein's book is entitled "Ten Dollars To Hate" because that's how much it cost to join the Texas Klan in the 1920s.

BERNSTEIN: My motive¹⁶ is not so much to remove every Confederate statue but to have more of a balance in our public life - this new wave that's just beginning to get started of celebrating other kinds of heroes who have more to say for our own time.

JAQUITA WILSON: Well, it came about without our input¹⁷. No one asked us.

GOODWYN: Standing¹⁸ next to the Confederate memorial, Jaquita Wilson is one of the leaders of Georgetown's small African-American community. Wilson says Dan Moody means little to nothing to people of color in Williamson County and that people of color have historically meant little to nothing to white Williamson County.

WILSON: When you walk around this courthouse, there's no mention that there were Latinos, that there were Native Americans, that they were African-Americans here - just white Georgetown.

GOODWYN: Here's the twist in the Dan Moody story. Remember that traveling salesman the Georgetown Klan whipped and tarred back in 1923? Ralph Burleson was a young World War I veteran knocking around the country, selling silk hosiery door to door. And he was white. The reason the Klan got agitated¹⁹ was because Burleson rented a room in a Georgetown widow's house.

It was a straightforward²⁰ boarding arrangement. But, apparently²¹, the Klan didn't like the optics and so turned Burleson into a half-dead, bloody²² pulp²³. The young district attorney was appalled²⁴ and decided²⁵, not on my watch, Ku Klux Klan. But Wilson says none of it had anything to do with Georgetown's black community.

WILSON: And so that's why we're like, the Dan Moody statue - that's great for you. But it definitely wasn't for us. Once he rode that to governorship, he made it his business to reduce the voting rights of African-Americans.

GOODWYN: In 1944, Moody opposed the black franchise²⁶ by trying to prohibit African-Americans from voting in the Texas Democratic primary. He argued the party was like a private club and therefore could keep black voters out. Jaquita Wilson says if Georgetown wants to make a gesture to its black community, take down the towering symbol of slavery and oppression that stands in the town square.

WILSON: It gives me, like, a punch in the gut²⁷.

GOODWYN: But for retired²⁸ Col. Shelby Little, leader of the Williamson County chapter of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, the memorial is a monument not to slavery but to the Confederate soldiers that served in the war.

SHELBY LITTLE: It's something that we're facing all across America, even right here in Georgetown, Texas - is the abysmal²⁹ illiteracy³⁰ when it comes to history.

GOODWYN: Standing in a Georgetown cemetery³¹ next to the graves of 113 Confederate soldiers, Little says the memorial will stay right where it is, unadorned by any plaque about black people or slavery.

LITTLE: They have an agenda. And they are not going to stop until they see that agenda satisfied. If they want to put a plaque on the other side of the courthouse or somewhere in the area, that is great. But don't impugn³² the integrity of our Confederate heroes.

GOODWYN: It's almost cliche³³ when writing about politics in the South. To quote William Faulkner, "the past is never dead. It's not even past." But never is that more true than when trying to decide who exactly gets honored in Southern town squares. Wade Goodwyn, NPR News, Georgetown, Texas.

1 wade   

v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉

参考例句：

• We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
• We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 moody   

adj.心情不稳的，易怒的，喜怒无常的

参考例句：

• He relapsed into a moody silence.他又重新陷于忧郁的沉默中。
• I'd never marry that girl.She's so moody.我决不会和那女孩结婚的。她太易怒了。

4 icon   

n.偶像，崇拜的对象，画像

参考例句：

• They found an icon in the monastery.他们在修道院中发现了一个圣像。
• Click on this icon to align or justify text.点击这个图标使文本排齐。

5 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

6 prosecute   

vt.告发；进行；vi.告发，起诉，作检察官

参考例句：

• I am trying my best to prosecute my duties.我正在尽力履行我的职责。
• Is there enough evidence to prosecute?有没有起诉的足够证据？

7 stunned   

adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The fall stunned me for a moment. 那一下摔得我昏迷了片刻。
• The leaders of the Kopper Company were then stunned speechless. 科伯公司的领导们当时被惊得目瞪口呆。

8 courageous   

adj.勇敢的，有胆量的

参考例句：

• We all honour courageous people.我们都尊重勇敢的人。
• He was roused to action by courageous words.豪言壮语促使他奋起行动。

9 jeopardy   

n.危险；危难

参考例句：

• His foolish behaviour may put his whole future in jeopardy.他愚蠢的行为可能毁了他一生的前程。
• It is precisely at this juncture that the boss finds himself in double jeopardy.恰恰在这个关键时刻，上司发现自己处于进退两难的境地。

10 erecting   

v.使直立，竖起( erect的现在分词 )；建立

参考例句：

• Nations can restrict their foreign trade by erecting barriers to exports as well as imports. 象设置进口壁垒那样，各国可以通过设置出口壁垒来限制对外贸易。 来自辞典例句
• Could you tell me the specific lift-slab procedure for erecting buildings? 能否告之用升板法安装楼房的具体程序？ 来自互联网

11 racist   

n.种族主义者，种族主义分子

参考例句：

• a series of racist attacks 一连串的种族袭击行为
• His speech presented racist ideas under the guise of nationalism. 他的讲话以民族主义为幌子宣扬种族主义思想。

12 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

13 plaque   

n.饰板，匾，(医)血小板

参考例句：

• There is a commemorative plaque to the artist in the village hall.村公所里有一块纪念该艺术家的牌匾。
• Some Latin words were engraved on the plaque. 牌匾上刻着些拉丁文。

14 thoroughly   

adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地

参考例句：

• The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
• The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。

15 infested   

adj.为患的，大批滋生的（常与with搭配）v.害虫、野兽大批出没于( infest的过去式和过去分词 )；遍布于

参考例句：

• The kitchen was infested with ants. 厨房里到处是蚂蚁。
• The apartments were infested with rats and roaches. 公寓里面到处都是老鼠和蟑螂。

16 motive   

n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的

参考例句：

• The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
• He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。

17 input   

n.输入(物)；投入；vt.把(数据等)输入计算机

参考例句：

• I will forever be grateful for his considerable input.我将永远感激他的大量投入。
• All this information had to be input onto the computer.所有这些信息都必须输入计算机。

18 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

19 agitated   

adj.被鼓动的，不安的

参考例句：

• His answers were all mixed up,so agitated was he.他是那样心神不定，回答全乱了。
• She was agitated because her train was an hour late.她乘坐的火车晚点一个小时，她十分焦虑。

20 straightforward   

adj.正直的，坦率的；易懂的，简单的

参考例句：

• A straightforward talk is better than a flowery speech.巧言不如直说。
• I must insist on your giving me a straightforward answer.我一定要你给我一个直截了当的回答。

21 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

22 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

23 pulp   

n.果肉，纸浆；v.化成纸浆，除去...果肉，制成纸浆

参考例句：

• The pulp of this watermelon is too spongy.这西瓜瓤儿太肉了。
• The company manufactures pulp and paper products.这个公司制造纸浆和纸产品。

24 appalled   

v.使惊骇，使充满恐惧( appall的过去式和过去分词)adj.惊骇的；丧胆的

参考例句：

• The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
• They were appalled by the reports of the nuclear war. 他们被核战争的报道吓坏了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

25 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

26 franchise   

n.特许，特权，专营权，特许权

参考例句：

• Catering in the schools is run on a franchise basis.学校餐饮服务以特许权经营。
• The United States granted the franchise to women in 1920.美国于1920年给妇女以参政权。

27 gut   

n.[pl.]胆量；内脏；adj.本能的；vt.取出内脏

参考例句：

• It is not always necessary to gut the fish prior to freezing.冷冻鱼之前并不总是需要先把内脏掏空。
• My immediate gut feeling was to refuse.我本能的直接反应是拒绝。

28 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

29 abysmal   

adj.无底的，深不可测的，极深的；糟透的，极坏的；完全的

参考例句：

• The film was so abysmal that I fell asleep.电影太糟糕，看得我睡着了。
• There is a historic explanation for the abysmal state of Chinese cuisine in the United States.中餐在美国的糟糕状态可以从历史上找原因。

30 illiteracy   

n.文盲

参考例句：

• It is encouraging to read that illiteracy is declining.从读报中了解文盲情况正在好转，这是令人鼓舞的。
• We must do away with illiteracy.我们必须扫除文盲。

31 cemetery   

n.坟墓，墓地，坟场

参考例句：

• He was buried in the cemetery.他被葬在公墓。
• His remains were interred in the cemetery.他的遗体葬在墓地。

32 impugn   

v.指责，对…表示怀疑

参考例句：

• Nobody can impugn his ability.没有人对他的能力表示怀疑。
• The Secretary's letter questions my veracity and impugns my motives.部长的来信怀疑我的诚实，质疑我的动机。

33 cliche   

n./a.陈词滥调(的)；老生常谈(的)；陈腐的

参考例句：

• You should always try to avoid the use of cliche. 你应该尽量避免使用陈词滥调。
• The old cliche is certainly true:the bigger car do mean bigger profits.有句老话倒的确说得不假:车大利大。