There has been much discussion this week about the dumping of two key historical figures by the Connecticut Democratic party. The names of Presidents Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson will no longer be used in the party’s big annual fundraiser, now formerly known as the Jefferson Jackson Bailey dinner.
The central committee voted to remove Jefferson and Jackson after a request by the Connecticut NAACP for the Democratic party to leave its “racist past.” Both Jefferson and Jackson owned slaves.
This Sunday on Face the State on WFSB Hartford (CBS) we talked with the president of the CT NAACP about the decision, which quickly made national news.
Esdaile explained in detail his reasoning for wanting the JJB dinner to be renamed, but what’s next? If Jefferson is too racist of a figure to be in the name of an event, then what about schools and streets in Connecticut named for him? What about other slave owners honored in our state? Should the town of Madison be called Hammonasset because President James Madison owned slaves?
Esdaile says we should open a dialogue about that and he would support a name change “1000” per cent.” He also wants a discussion on removing slave owners from U.S. currency.
watch the segment right here: http://www.wfsb.com/clip/11711636/ct-naacp-talks-about-decision-to-rename-jefferson-jackson-bailey-dinner
Esdaile’s suggestion for a new name for the dinner? The Obama Clinton Bailey dinner or the Obama Johnson Bailey dinner.
Categories: Uncategorized
Dennis House blog 
THEN ITS TIME TO CHANGE YOUR PARTY;
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This is ridiculous and getting completely out of control.
Leave History alone!!!
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Right on. This is part of our history unpleasant as it may be but it is history and should be left alone. The should not rename the JJB dinner–leave it alone.
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AGREED!!!
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More presidents than Jefferson and Jackson were slave owners. Also, from my understanding Jefferson was the composer of our Constitution. Everyone has known these facts for hundreds of years. I think it should be left up to each individual town, state on what they choose to do about events honoring former presidents that were slaveholders. My personal opinion is why change what we have become used to all these years? All that will be accomplished is dividing the people more than we already are. I think what is most important is how we handle fairly our every day dealings we have with each other so we don’t keep on committing the same old biased deeds of the past.
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There are many unpleasant events in our nations history. What is seen as an abomination now, was an excepted practice over 200yrs ago. Let’s stop duelling in the past and look forward to make this country greater than it has ever been. Put this ugly part of our history behind us.It’s gone, never to return. Let’s not keep pulling it back to relive over and over again!
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Amen to that. History is just that history. Leave the past behind. Learn from it. And make a better tomorrow. Or we will be so busy hateing that there will be no tomorrow.
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If we look back this country will not move forward. Get real we have issues we need to deal with now!
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What’s next, removing their portraits from the White House? Our history is our history and is what shaped our country. You can’t change it nor erase so just move on.
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WTH ???? What is the matter with people today? Are we to have no history? People need to get a grip! Why aren’t they more concerned with the state of affairs and how we can rebuild this great nation ,,,, back to being the greatest nation on earth! In the words of the late John F. Kennedy, we should be asking what we can do for our country and not telling them what it can do for us. Wake up America!! You cannot change history, You can only move forward and make a better tomorrow! I fear for my grandkids! Hopefully they will not be part of this “ME, me. me” world.
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Another predictable knee-jerk reaction from the Democrats. If it wasn’t for the words and deeds of Thomas Jefferson this country and the Democrat party probably wouldn’t exist.
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Judging historical figures by the standards of today is just plain stupid.
Changing the name of a park or school from Washington, Madison, or Robert E. Lee does not change the past nor does it erase racism. The NAACP needs to rethink its stance.
Or…let’s just take it further. I am a woman. Martin Luther King Jr. was a sexist. (Something quite common for men of his time, and accepted by society.) Should I start demanding that we rename the streets and memorials dedicated to MLK because he did not adhere to the social standards of today regarding women?
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How true ! If we go back and look at the
history of women’s suffrage in this country we would have to change a lot of names ! And let’s face it women are still not as equal as men ,though we have come a long way.
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Why don’t we vote to re-name the entire United States “Russia”? That’s what we have become! Why do politicians give in to the demands of groups who are still debating the Civil War? That is part of our history, get it? HISTORY! Like it or not, our history made this country, although it’s become a matter of debate now. This country was built on the backs of hard-working people. Some were landowners, some were slaves and ALL were immigrants! It sickens me that these groups want compensation for something they did nothing to earn. How about compensation for the thousands of people who were denied jobs when they came into this country because they were Irish, Italian, Polish, etc.? Good God in Heaven, why can’t we just move forward and look toward the future instead of reliving the past? We can’t change the past, but we CAN work together for a brighter future.
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I can thankfully say that few of Irish or Italian, etc., heritage are seldom mistreated – today – because of their backgrounds. I am sure that African Americans would gladly drop the debate if there still weren’t so many issues that make the continuing discrimination against them obvious. I would hope that there would be other ways to change the dialogue other than changing names of things, etc. But I understand the pain that makes people ask for these things…there’s a continuing hope that the pain of today can be obliterated with these actions.
The (white) man in Chattanooga who hosts regular get-togethers, attended by both black and white, to openly and honestly discuss the racial divide — what it is today and how to change it — has a marvelous idea. Most of us who are white have no idea what it means to walk in the shoes of a black person. Until we truly understand what it means for a man who works hard and is honest as the day is long to be followed around the store by security because he’s black, we can’t criticize their drive to try to erase today’s pain by erasing the history that still plagues us.
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This Democratic, NAACP driven controversy has now become asinine. History is history. Are we going to black out to Civil War or the Nazi regime as well from our history books and memories because they go against the grain of being, so-called ‘politically correct’? A dinner’s name perpetuates what?
There are too many more important things going on in our country about which to squabble than poor Washington’s and Jefferson’s choices to own slaves. It’s time for the rabble-rousers of all parties and colors to concentrate on working in unity to heal the ill-will created by those who feel they’ve been trod upon. Grow up, people.
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History is history, good or bad, it’s something that has happened and can’t be erased. Historical figures don’t cause the race issues of today, that is caused by ignorant people. There is one thing i don’t understand about the NAACP. They say the are for equality but didn’t they themselves just have an issue with a spokeswoman, who had been with them for some time, because it was found out that she was not of African decent? Racism goes both ways. I have know both white and black racist people. I don’t understand people who think they are better than someone else because of the color of their skin. Instead of fighting with each other over things that none of us were even a part of why not try to stand together against the evils of the world today that we can do something about.
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I swear I’m in the twilight zone these days! That a society would continually keep digging back into what simply was part of history to keep matters of conflict stirred up – based on what WAS – to me falls under the definition of lunacy.
I don’t know a person today who relates to the names of past presidents or anyone else from the past when they read or hear a name.
All of this is merely trying to erase the facts of history, and if there is no reference to atrocities, mistakes, or wrong doings, how can anyone learn from past behaviors to prevent the same from occurring again?
And by giving such notice and effort to erasing the past – we are certainly taking our eyes off of the present – and today, that could prove to be a tragic mistake considering all matters at hand.
Get over it people – it is what it is. To do any community of people any justice you would be best to leave the reminders of the past available to protect you in the future.
These energies and efforts would be best used to get involved in current events and stop the decay of this nation. If we don’t step out of the past, there will likely be a very dismal future ahead for us all.
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Whats next rewrite the constitution this is stupit move on
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Foolishness just foolishness, Next they will want to remove the Constitution of the United States because it was written and signed by people that owned slaves. Enough with the attempts to rewrite history . Look to the past to learn, to formulate a path for the future. All this fuss is creating a division between Americans at a time when we should be united against terrorism and the evil that exist in todays world.
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Political correctness has reached a new low. Today’s values should be applied to today’s leaders, not those who lived in a different time where different standards of what was socially acceptable applied. There is a lot of hate, discord and ugliness in our society today. Let’s move beyond this attempt to pretty up the past and work to make TODAY a better world to live in for everyone.
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You can’t change American History by wiping out a name but you can learn more by the mistack’s of other’s, These men did more then just own slave’s which at the time was exsepatable they shape this country …the fought for the freedom witch give’s you a voice in your own government. If it wasn’t for these men and other’s like them we might be slave’s today each of us.
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Negative things seem to be recognized today, and good overlooked.
You are correct! They are totally overlooking the tremendous impact these men had in establishing this country and ensuring the freedom of its citizens.
Leaders today are doing everything they can to take away those freedoms.
That’s what American citizens should be collectively fighting – not attacking the past!
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This is just ridiculous. Let’s learn from history and not try to change it. Maybe the Democrats should concentrate on fixing what’s wrong with our government today instead of wasting time trying to erase or change the past. I’m tired of paying the politicians for doing nothing but talking out of their asses. Get to work and fix the things that really need fixing!!!!
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We do need to fix things and move forward. But one of the broken things, in too many awful – and often insidious – ways is race relations. I believe there would be a lot less concern about negating history if there were positive signs that we learned from it and are moving forward in a positive way.
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I think I’ll sue the Italian government, because the Romans threw Christians to the lions.
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To take this to it’s (il)logical conclusion, all former slaves alive today and their descendants plus those aggrieved by the institution of slavery, but not actually descended from any former slaves, should be immediately repatriated back to their land of birth. That seems to be the moral course of action. I also agree that the name of the dinner should be changed to more accurately portray the present day Democrat party.Something like the Politically Correct Socialsts. Also, shouldn’t Jesse Jackson have to change his name?
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Why is this jackass making the news? You politicians and journalists are in for a rude awakening and it won’t be this apocalyptic fable you’re creating, it will run much deeper than that. I think it’s time to wake, don’t you?
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This is so illogical we can not change history . This is part of what made our country great . We can not “whitewash our whole history so that everything is politically correct and we don’t offend anyone . Our history books will be empty because they’re is always going to be something that will offend someone.
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why dont we get rid of the irs since obama uses it to go after people he doesnt like sounds racist to me
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Does anybody have 2 change history. I think NOT.
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I’m a dem but it shames me that the dems want this gone its our dam history u can’t erase our history we can learn from it and move on to better thinks but to try and erase who our presidents were is stupped our country is good ng to hell more and more this is why I hate politics isn’t our history part of learning or am I wrong
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A line in the movie (The Kid) Bruce Willis acts.. Look it up. If I had a wish. Please let the dems and reps work on something that isn,t a waste of time and money??
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All the socialists want to always rewrite history. History is what happened in the past. concentrate on today’s problems. If it keeps going this way nobody will know where we came from, let alone where we are going.
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What do you think is going to happen to Mt Rushmore, Jefferson Memorial- maybe rename in honor of Al (I should be in jail) Sharpton?I presume George Washington will be next. Since we are steamrolling down this path, shouldn’t we not dissolve the state of West Virginia- every(well, almost) state and federal building ,bridge, hiway, etc.in the state is named for Democrat Sen. Robert (sheets) Byrd, near lifetime member of …..wait for it…. The KKK?
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Rewriting history does not change history. You cannot change the past!
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So what about the documents, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution those slave owners wrote? Do they want to get rid of them too? This is what Obama wanted. He hates the Constitution because it limits his power. This is way out of control. If the Democráts don’t like the names of our streets, towns and nations capital, they are welcome to leave our country. The PC garbage has gone too far. You can’t judge historical figures on the morals of today. You have condemned cultures going back to Hreece and further by this nonsense.
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As I’ve read before the best name for the dinner would be the Barnum and Bailey dinner so the clowns in the Democráts party could all attend.
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When will William (formerly) JEFFERSON Clinton announce his new middle name?
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Can you say reparations?
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We need to do away with the Democratic Party, they fought for slavery, formed the KKK,wrote the JimCrow laws, did all the lynchings, backed segregation, ran a segregationist for president ,opposed the CRA and had a KKK in their senate until 2010…….today they use blacks for votes while dividing the nation by pitting black against white…….much worse than a flag!
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