Slavery as it existed in the South was not an adversarial relationship with pervasive racial animosity. Because of its dominantly patriarchal character, it was a relationship based upon mutual affection and confidence...
...Slave life was to them a life of plenty, of simple pleasures, of food, clothes, and good medical care.
Quiz:
Those are passages from:
a. a book used in a Southern school in 1950
b. a book to be used in a Southern school in 2004
If you answered "a", you're wrong.
More below the fold.
Update [2004-12-10 4:9:11 by Plutonium Page]: Right on! E-mail does work. They've decided not to use the pamphlet. Here's the press release (pdf).
The passages I posted are from a booklet entitled 'Southern Slavery, As It Was'.
The booklet is to be used as part of the curriculum at Cary Christian School in Cary, North Carolina.
School defends slavery booklet
Leaders at Cary Christian School say they are not condoning slavery by using "Southern Slavery, As It Was," a booklet that attempts to provide a biblical justification for slavery and asserts that slaves weren't treated as badly as people think.
Principal Larry Stephenson said the school is only exposing students to different ideas, such as how the South justified slavery. He said the booklet is used because it is hard to find writings that are both sympathetic to the South and explore what the Bible says about slavery.
"You can have two different sides, a Northern perspective and a Southern perspective," he said.
The booklet isn't the only connection its two co-authors have with the school.
One of the authors, Douglas Wilson, a pastor in Moscow, Idaho, wrote a book on classical education upon which the school bases its philosophy. Wilson's Association of Classical and Christian Schools accredited Cary Christian, and he is scheduled to speak at the school's graduation in May.
And the book's other author?
The booklet's other author, Steve Wilkins, is a member of the board of directors of the Alabama-based League of the South. That is classified as a "hate group" by the Southern Poverty Law Center, an Alabama-based civil rights group.
"Doug Wilson and Steve Wilkins have essentially constructed the ruling theology of the neo-Confederate movement," said Mark Potok, editor of the Southern Poverty Law Center's Intelligence Report.
Potok said people who argue that the South should secede again have latched onto the writings of Wilson and Wilkins, which portray the Confederacy as the last true Christian civilization.
I'm sure this isn't the only proud dad who thinks it's great:
Marcus Ranch, who has three daughters at Cary Christian, said he has no problem with the school using the booklet. He said it offers an accurate portrayal that is overlooked of how many slaves were treated kindly by their owners.
"That book is fine," Ranch said. "It does a good job with that particular perspective."
When do the kids get their white hoods?